Secrets Kept by Sentient Machines
by IndigoMoose
Summary: The Doctor has said he is the last of his kind, yet he is quite incorrect. Follow him on a journey that includes a visit to the planet of Xoanon, a run in with the Paradox Eradication & Prevention Agency, an unpleasant meeting with the Rani, and an overdue wedding. Plus, after 300 years on post 22nd century Earth, Susan starts time traveling again. Happy 50th Animversary!
1. Out of Order: part 1

EPISODE ONE

**OUT OF ORDER**

A binging noise and a warm glow fills the quiet room where the Doctor sits. His back straightens at the sound. "Being summoned," he says to himself. He eagerly charges into the console room. "I haven't been summoned in ages! Who's summoning me?" He looks at the monitor expectantly.

"A surly River Song," he reports to no one but himself, and perhaps the Tardis, though she knows exactly who is on the monitor. The Doctor twiddles his fingers in thought, then pushes the monitor aside, as if the face on the screen could hear what he was about to say. "You know, we don't really have to answer the summons." The Tardis lurches to show her disapproval. "Fine, if you insist. I just wish I knew what she is so bothered about."

The Doctor moves to his usual post. Suddenly, a new thought occurs to him. "How is she summoning me in the first place?"

The Tardis fades into being in a softly life hall. Rory and Amy are there, impatiently guarding an inconspicuous wooden door. They wear matching formal attire. Rory's vest and tie are the same shade of Tardis blue as Amy's satin dress. The doors of the Tardis swing open and the Doctor steps out nervously. His face changes from anxious to astonished joy upon seeing his best mates. "Amy! Rory! I thought I would never see you again!" the Doctor sweeps them into a group hug. Unexpectedly, they push away from his embrace and attack him with questions. "Where were you?" "How dare you be so late?" "Do you realize how long we've been waiting?" "She's been crying. Did you mean to make her cry?" "You're not wearing that, are you?"

The Doctor held up his hands in submission and a request for silence.

"But, there were Angels… you could never escape, I …" the Doctor looked at their frowning faces. "What was the last adventure we had together?" he asks them.

"As our daughter would say, Spoilers," says Rory in a cool tone.

"I'm here because River summoned me," states the Doctor. "I don't know why she summoned me – and don't tell me just yet. First, I want to know how she summoned me. Where is River?"

Rory and Amy both looked to the wooden door as if it was obvious. The Doctor makes a step towards the door. Rory and Amy both quickly move to block his path.

"You can't go in there," says Amy.

"River is in there. I want to speak with River," says the Doctor mater-of-factly.

"You can't see her just now," says Rory. "It's bad luck."

"That's something you gotta love about River Song. Seeing her is usually bad luck."

"She's really upset, Doctor," says Amy. "Please don't make it worse. Let Rory go in and tell her you're here. Let me find you something more appropriate to wear…"

The Doctor takes ahold of Amy's shoulders, "Oh, Pond… what's all the fuss? Why have Rory announce me…" the Doctor does a quick spin and is at the door, hand on handle, "When I can announce myself!" He opens the door and in a boisterous voice called out, "River, I'm he-"

The sight of River in a long white gown zaps him of all words.

Her back was to him, but he could see in the mirror that he cheeks were still red and blotchy. The delicate lace of the gown, the dozens of little white flowers stuck into her whimsical mane of hair, there was no need to guess the occasion for which he was so ill-dressed.

The Doctor decides to play it cool. "I received your summons," he says quietly. River turns her head slightly. He took this as permission to continue. "I was just wondering, well, _how_ you did it."

River turns to face him. Her eyes full of confusion. "With the ring, of course."

"What ring?"

"This ring," says River, thrusting her hand inches away from his nose. There, wrapped around her ring finger is a highly polished metal key.

The Doctor snatches her wrist, turning her hand as he rapidly examined the ring key. Bewildered he looked up at River. "It's a Tardis key, warped and welded..." He whipped his sonic screwdriver out from his pocket and started to scan the quirky metal object. River snatched her hand away. "Where did you get it?" the Doctor demands.

River's face turns cold. She looks past the Doctor, through the open door, past her parents, to the blue box. "That stupid blue box," she mumbles.

"Pardon?" says the Doctor.

"I got the ring from you!" she shouts in his face, fighting back tears, then races straight towards the Tardis.

"You!" she shouts at the humble time machine. "You stupid blue box! This was supposed to be my day! There's a reason I don't do weddings. I should have stuck to my guns, but you let me hope. You _made_ me hope."

"I thought we were already married," says the Doctor trying to step between River and the Tardis. "There was the scarf and the kiss and I told you to look into my eye… I'm not saying a spoiler, am I?"

"No. That has happened."

"So, why this extra stuff?" says the Doctor, wishing he had chosen different words the moment they left his lips.

River pushes him aside and begins nearly screaming at the police box. "I thought you would play fair - not for me, but for her. Her final request was so simple. But, no! You had to take things out of order. You had to ruin things. You couldn't let him enjoy a single day without you. We can share the limelight, but never have it all to ourselves. You selfish, horrid thing!" River song started kicking the box and shouting obscenities in Gallifreyan. Rory calmly put his arms around his screaming daughter and pulled her away. "The wedding is off!" River shouted. "I won't marry someone who hasn't proposed to me!"

The Doctor is at a complete loss. He stands next to his beloved blue time machine watching the beautiful bride get dragged to the other side of the foyer. Never had he seen River Song in such hysterics. Amy stands next to the Doctor, watching her husband employ his nurse training to calm down their adult child. "You said you were popping out to get your corsage. What happened?" Amy asks in a low voice.

"That's something I do in my future, I haven't done it yet. I'm confused, I thought River and I already got married."

Amy squinted. "You mean on top of the pyramid in the alternate reality? That doesn't really count."

"River never struck me as one who wanted the formal event," said the Doctor, glancing over at River, who was talking in hushed tones with Rory.

"It wasn't her idea to have a formal event," Amy tells the Doctor.

"Of course it wasn't. Apparently I was the one who did the proposing; proposing with a very interesting ring. I'll need another scan to confirm, but if my suspicions are right…" The Doctor got a far-away look on his face. He was trying to remember something from far back in his past.

Rory is approaching them. River is on the other side of the room, sitting on the floor, a subdued white lump glaring at the Tardis. "Tell River I am so sorry for …" the Doctor tries to think of a way to describe his transgression, "For arriving early."

"It's okay," says Rory. "She doesn't blame you. She blames the Tardis. She thinks you were brought here deliberately out of order."

"Oh, the Tardis wouldn't do that," the Doctor says dismissively. He patted the side of the police box proudly. He stops and turns to give the Tardis a hard look, as if he could read the truth in her windows. "You did do it on purpose!" he is aghast. "Oh! Amy, Rory, I assure you; the Tardis is going to get one very stern lecture from me right after we go get the necessary scan." The Doctor opens the doors to the Tardis with authority.

"What do you need to scan?" asks Rory.

"I have a suspicion, I need to make sure. The key that River's ring was made from… I don't want to say. I just need to make sure."

The door is shut and the Tardis leaves with its usual noises, though Rory could swear he heard a twinge of guilt in the whirring sound.

**{+==]**


	2. Out of Order: part 2

At the Coal Hill High School in Shoreditch, a middle aged woman is calmly lecturing a set of rather bored students. They dutifully take notes, as she tells them about the assassination of American President Abraham Lincoln. "He was shot by a crazy man named Lee Harvey Oswald. I'll write that on the board for you…" she was saying as a man with boyish charm and a bow-tie thrust open the door.

"I am looking for one Susan Foreman," he said.

"She is not in this class," replied the teacher, hoping the man would leave without further disrupting her class.

The man stayed in the door way, his hand still on the handle. He took a closer look at the teacher. "You're not Barbra!" he exclaimed.

"No, she teaches history in the classroom two doors down."

"Ah," said the man. "Well, sorry to have bothered you." He backed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

The teacher resumed writing on the board. She had just finished writing the name of Lincoln's assassin when the door flew open again.

"I'm sorry to interrupt again, but did you say Lee Harvey Oswald?"

"Yes," said the teacher, maintaining composure.

"Killed American President Abraham Lincoln?"

"Yes."

"Not John Wilkes Booth?"

"Please, sir, I am trying to teach a lesson. Don't confuse the children."

"But you're telling them Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Lincoln."

"That's because he did."

"Then who shot John F. Kennedy?"

"Kennedy's been shot?" the woman looked stunned. The children in the class grew silent.

"Wait, what is the date today?"

"November 23nd," said one of the students helpfully.

"So, still the 22nd in America." The man in the bow tie looked over at the large clock on the wall and did some fast mental math. "Yes," he answered the shocked educator's question. Then, as quickly as he had come, the man shut the door behind him.

The Doctor leaned against the door, faintly hearing the excited voices of the classroom he had just disturbed. President Abraham Lincoln had been shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. He murmured to himself, "Susan will just have to wait."

**{+==]***

In Dallas the streets and sidewalks are filled with people eagerly preparing to watch the presidents' motorcade. No one notices the two agents weaving through the crowd speaking with hushed tones into the collars of their grey turtle neck sweaters.

"Anachronism spotted at Dealy Plaza?" ask one of the agents.

"We are already on it," says the other. She sees the Doctor walking briskly out of an alley containing a blue police box that was most certainly out of place for 1960s America.

The Doctor is surveying his surroundings, hoping the Tardis has landed close to Dealy Plaza. Before he can make his next move, he finds himself unable to move. A hand is on the back of his neck, fingers digging into some Gallifreyan specific pressure points.

"Do not move and answer all of our questions truthfully," says a lulling yet frightening voice behind him.

"Who are you? How do you know the Freezing Grip?" asks the Doctor.

The grip became firmer and a thumb found yet another pressure point. The Doctor is pulled into the alley away from view.

"They teach the Grip the third week of training," says the woman. "And they teach this the fourth week." In a move that can only be described as deft, she cuffs the Doctor's right wrist to his left ankle and left wrist to right ankle. The Doctor looks up bewildered. Now there are two people wearing dark grey sweaters. The one is a woman, her dark hair pinned back in a tight pony-tail. The other is a man with dark sunglasses. Neither would stand out in a crowd, but here in this alley way they are clearly worth remembering.

"Are you CIA?" asks the Doctor. "No, you can't be CIA. The whole agency was well… everyone was, you know."

"Are you referring to the Celestial Intervention Agency of Gallifrey?" inquires the man in the sunglasses.

"We're not with them," the woman says quickly. She gets right to the point, "You are being detained under suspicion of trying to save the President."

"No," says the Doctor, struggling to face his accuser. "I am here to make sure the right person shoots him."

"Scan him," the woman tells her partner. The man pulls from a deep pocket a small device and scans the Doctor's palms and flashed a red light in his eyes.

"You don't understand," protests the Doctor. "I'm here to help. Someone is messing with Time. I have to stop them."

"No, Sir. We have to stop them. That's our job." Her lulling voice took on a business tone, "What does the scanner say?"

"It's still calculating," says the man. He shrugs his shoulders and slips the device back in his pocket.

"Please, John Wilkes Booth is about to shoot Kennedy –"

"Don't try to stop JFK's death," both of the agents say firmly.

"I'm not. I just want to find out why it isn't Oswald. Someone is messing with Time."

Both the agents let out a sigh of relief.

"No, sir," says the woman. "Someone is messing with History." The Doctor is starting to think her voice is less lulling and more patronizing. She continues to explain. "Time is just fine. As long as the fixed point is unaltered -"

"Today _is_ a fixed point!" cries the Doctor.

"Let me guess," says the man with the sunglasses. He pulls out a small key and kneels down to start releasing the Doctor from the cuffs. "You looked into the void, spent a couple decades at the Academy, think you know all about the delicate fabric of Time and Space. Well, listen up, Time Lord," he says the words with contempt. "A fixed point in Time is very small. It isn't a whole day, or even a whole minute. It is the length of time it takes a bullet to enter and exit a skull." He stands and moves to exit the alley.

"Who gets blamed matters little; who shot it even less so," says the dark haired women.

The Doctor scrambles to his feet. "Then why change the names? Why tinker in a thing so trivial yet recognizable?"

The question makes both agents pause. The man in the sunglasses speaks, "Could it be Dr. Song? This seems like a thing she'd do."

"She's an archeologist," says the woman. "She wouldn't mess with personal histories."

"What about that agent of ours that went rogue? Jack Harkness?"

"Now you're just guessing random people. If someone were messing with personal histories, Brairian would have fixed it before even the savviest Time Traveling History Buff would have noticed."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Some thing is messing with personal histories."

The Doctor perks up. "Some things are my specialty. I'm on the case."

The woman glared at the foolish man in the bow tie. "Has the scanner given a reading yet?" she asks her partner.

"Oh! I forgot all about it." He takes the scanner back out of his pocket. He reads it. "This can't be right." He shows his partner the scanner's read out.

"But… but he's in a bow-tie. With these levels he should be in a velvet coat with longish wavy hair."

"Levels of what? What's that mean?" the Doctor snatches the scanner.

The woman purses her lips. "We don't have time for this. We are supposed to be setting up at the grassy knoll."

"I'm not giving it back 'til you tell me what these green lights mean."

The woman gives an exasperated sigh. "It's the pull of the Time Lock. You're not done playing a role in the Time War."

"The Time War?" the Doctor lost his grip on the scanner. The woman caught it as it fell and left the alley.

The man takes pity on the stunned Doctor. He removes his sunglasses and speaks gently. "Don't stress about it. Just do what you would normally do." With a gentle hand he opened the door of the Tardis. The Doctor entered still too bewildered to speak. The man put his sunglasses back on. "Travel with friends. Leave the protection of Time _and_ History to the professionals."

Outside of the alley the woman is speaking into her collar. "This is Agent Perl recommending extra surveillance be placed on Sue and Sven."

**{+==]**


	3. Out of Order: part 3

A young Susan Foreman stands outside the TARDIS, shouting and crying for her grandfather. The image quickly flashes to her key, tossed in the dirt. There is a final image of a hand retrieving the key and the face David Campbell, the man Susan Foreman loved. This image is followed by Rassilon ordering that all traveling Time Lords to return to Gallifrey and sending out the Sweepers. This last vision causes the Doctor to shudder himself awake. When the Doctor awakens from this dream, he finds his hands and head resting gently against the walls of the Tardis. "We must have been dream sharing!" he says to his machine. "River's ring is that key. Susan's key… How do I get a hold of it?"

The Doctor paces back and forth. Then he snaps his fingers as if he's thought of something brilliant, which he possibly has.

"I visit the 22nd century and find David. Susan couldn't have taken the key with her, otherwise how could I get a hold of it to give to River? Susan may be gone, but David Campbell will still be there. He was the one who picked up the key anyway. He could tell me when Susan left, what her life was like before the Sweepers came and brought her back to Gallifrey." The Doctor pauses in thought; then he says to himself, "Perhaps I'll just focus on what happened to the key."

**{+==]***

In a forest on a night with a full moon, three young rascals gather on the edge of a clearing. In the clearing is an old cottage. The vines covering the stone walls make it impossible to deny its age, yet it is well kept. Someone is obviously living there.

"There it is," says a tall thin boy. "The house of the witch. They say she's lived there for over a hundred years, and she looked old even then."

"No way," says a chubby boy with brown hair. "That house was built way back in 2165. My grandpa told me so. There's no one living in there now."

"Then you wouldn't be afraid to go and knock on the door now, would you?" challenges the third boy.

In the cottage, an old woman is asleep. The voices of the boys taunting each other drift through the open window above her bed, but she does not hear them. She is dreaming. She is dreaming of traveling across time and space with a white haired gentleman in a dusty Edwardian suit. In her dream, there stands the old man clutching his lapels as he gives her a farewell speech. "Believe me, my dear," he says, "Your future lies with David and not with a silly old buffer like me. One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back."

The three boys now stand a short distance from the door. It is painted a royal blue color with four small darkened windows at the top. The color and windows do not stir even the slightest recognition amongst the boys. They push and shove each other. "You knock." "No, you go knock." Their argument is halted by a loud whirring noise. They look up and decide to run home.

The noise awakens the old lady from her dream. She does not check out her window. She is sure of what she has heard. She pulls on a white cotton robe and moves to the door as quickly as her aged body can go.

She opens her blue door to see, unexpectedly, a large, bright white cylinder hovering gently above her front lawn. A door becomes visible and swings open. A small ramp slides down. Out steps a short scruffy looking fellow in black overalls, a sonic screwdriver and several other Gallifreyan gadgets peeking out of his pockets.

"Sorry about the loud noise, ma'am," says the fellow. "Sounds horrible, I know. Just like a TARDIS with its parking brake on."

The woman looks disappointed and confused. The man wonders if he is mistaken. He holds out a fat scanning wand and waives it in front of her face and chest. He checks the wand for a reading. "First cycle, age 300. Okay, where's your TT capsule?"

"I... I don't have one," stammers the old woman. It has been centuries since she's heard such a term. "I traveled here with my grandfather. I was left behind."

"Ah, well. Come on in. I'll give you a lift back to Gallifrey." The man holds the door to the big white cylinder open for her to walk past.

She hesitates. "Who are you?"

"I was sent by the President. Sweepers we're called. After the message was put out for all traveling Gallifreyans to return home and fight the Time War -"

"Time War?" the old woman is troubled by this phrase.

"Ah, I guess you didn't get the message. Sent across the universe telepathically. Should've had dreams about it."

"I've been having different dreams," the woman confesses.

"No matter. Come along. The Mod-Hopper will get you back to Gallifrey no trouble. We need everyone we can get."

She enters the cylinder cautiously. "It's exactly as big on the outside as it is on the inside!" she exclaims.

"She's exactly as big as she needs to be," says the man. He shuts the door. "This machine is made to scan for triple helix DNA then hop to the location. No fancy extras." He goes to a console and begins to enter codes. He mumbles to himself, "Female, 300, no repairs needed, does not own TT capsule..." He looks up at his guest. "What name do you go by?"

"Susan Campbell," answers the woman. She then corrects herself, "Just Susan."

"Would you like to take advantage of our zero room for your regeneration?" asked the man, very ready to click the yes box.

"What do I need to regenerate for?" asks Susan. "My grandfather did plenty in his first cycle."

"Well, surely you're not gonna try to _fight_ in an arthritic old body like that."

"I wasn't planning on fighting. I thought I could be a nurse, you know, patch up the soldiers and unfortunate civilians..."

"Honey," says the man in the overalls, "There are no civilians. Rassilon has everyone who can launch a grenade doing something. And as far as patching up the soldiers... it's better to just let them die and regenerate."

Something in Susan's face hardens. Faster than he thought a woman of 300 could move, the man sees her open the door and toss him outside. They are hovering only inches about the grassy ground, so his fall doesn't hurt. She snatches the sonic screwdriver out of his front pocket, then slams the door. The man lies on the ground looking up in bewilderment as his Mod-Hopper flies away.

*{+==]***


	4. Out of Order: part 4

The man with the black overalls is still in the front yard of Susan's cottage. He has managed to get up, dust himself off, pull little bits of grass out of his blonde hair and get his bearings when he hears the whirring sound. To his surprise, it is not his Mod-Hopper but the infamous TT capsule he has heard so much about; the Tardis with the broken chameleon circuit. A man in a bow-tie steps out.

"Are you David Campbell?" the Doctor asks the blonde man in the overalls.

"No," the man answers.

"Is this the home of Susan and David Campbell?" asks the Doctor eyeing the house's blue door.

"It was," responded the man, "When David Campbell was alive. I believe it is just Susan Campbell living here now. She obviously outlived her husband by many years."

"Ah," says the Doctor aloud. In his head he is adding this moment to the tally of times the Tardis has found the proper place and missed the proper date by several decades.

"Have you met Susan?" the Doctor asks.

"Briefly," responds the man. "I hope to see her again."

"You probably won't," says the Doctor. "Did you happen to notice if she was wearing a key ring?"

"Uh…" the man fingered with his own ring of keys, "Not that I saw."

The Doctor bit his lower lip in thought. "This investigation is not going as planned." He re-entered his traveling machine and left with the unforgettable whirring sound.

The sound becomes louder as the Tardis faded from sight, which confuses the man in the black overalls until he turns around. He is relieved to see his Mod-Hopper come back. The door slides open and the face of a young woman smiles sheepishly at him, still wearing the nightgown and robe she left in.

"Um, sorry about what I did what was it, twenty minutes ago your time? Whatever. Need your help, now."

"I see you chose to use the zero room after all."

"No, I just died."

"Ah, sorry," said the man in the overalls.

"Not your fault. Just get in here."

The scruffy man took a big step into the hovering craft. "Never did tell you my name. Yours is Susan, right?" He looked around. Everything appeared to be as he left it. Susan nodded in response to his question. "They call me Sven—those who don't call me the Sweeper. So, what is the trouble?"

"I tried to go back to Gallifrey, but I couldn't. At least, I couldn't go back to the time I wanted. I kept getting the error message TMLCK."

Sven cringed. "I've missed my deadline!"

"What?"

"I was given five hours relative ship time for repairs and transportation. After that, Rassilon said he'd initiate the Time Lock and I wouldn't be able to get back to Gallifrey."

"Well, I was able to get back to Gallifrey. Caught a glimpse of my grandfather in his 6th self. I offered to be a character witness, he was on trial -"

The scruffy man nodded and interrupted her. "Who's your grandfather?"

"The Doctor."

"The Doctor!" the man's eyes shot wide. He quickly tried to act cool. "Oh, well, of course you could visit his sixth self. I saw his Eighth self before -"

"Grandfather was in Gallifrey fighting?" asked Susan, surprised.

"Yup," the man said, hooking his thumbs under his overall straps. "And I saw him again just now, he was looking for you."

"And I missed him! Why didn't he wait for me?"

"He seemed to be more interested in finding some fellow named David Campbell. Something about a key ring."

"He probably means this," says Susan, pulling on a thin chain around her neck. The key turned into a ring hangs on the end of the chain. "I keep it with me always, as close to my heart as I can. David made it for me. I called it our engagement ring. The key used to open the Tardis, and could summon it, too. I never did summon it successfully. David worried that he wrecked the key's powers by heating and bending it. I just think the Tardis is ignoring me."

"Type 40 TT capsules can't ignore summons, can they?"

"Some have more personality than others."

"But he was here, looking around, in his post-eighth self. He lived through the Time War," Sven says, his mouth twisting in concern.

"Why do you look so puzzled?" asks Susan.

"I don't get this reading over here," answers Sven.

"What about it?" asks Susan, glancing over at a secondary screen she had never even noticed was there.

"It has the date for the 61st century," begins Sven.

"Yeah, I changed the computer to use the New Byzantian calendar. I works better that way."

Sven cleared his throat. "It has a date way past the end of the Time War, and look at the coordinates."

Susan obliged. "They are the coordinates for Gallifrey."

"Now look at the view screen."

"It's an asteroid field." Susan's eyes grew as she realized what she had said. "Gallifrey blew up!"

"Yes," said the scruffy blonde man in black overalls. "Your grandfather, you, and I may be the only surviving Gallifreyans in the galaxy."

***{+==]***

Agent Perl and Agent Weft lie on their bellies in the soft green grass, their guns loaded and pointing towards the bullivard.

"Let Brarian know we are in position," Perl says to Weft.

Weft turns his head, touches the collar of his grey turtle neck. His communication device is gone.

"It's gone. It must have fallen off in the alley," Weft starts to stand .

"Stay down," Perl orders. "There is no time for you to retrieve it now. I'll call in to Brarian."

Perl sighs and speaks into her communication device.

Across the galaxy, in the 49th century of the human empire, in an inconspicuous cubicle filled with flickering monitors and humorous posters, Brarian presses the flashing blue button to receive an incoming call.

"Perl and Weft are in position," he hears Perl say.

"Why isn't Weft calling in?" asks Brarian, his fingers posed above a key board.

"Weft's com came off in the alley," came the response.

Brarian typed in some codes. "It isn't in the alley now. Its current position is completely out of your Time/Space domain. By these readings it is in a TT capsule."

"The Time Lord must have picked it up!"

Weft eyes shoot wide open when he hears his partner say that. "Jam the frequency. He's probably listening in right now."

Brarian was already in action; his fingers fly across the key board. He takes a new commun device out of a box and holds in up to a tube. The small device is sucked out of his hand. "I am sending a new com to your left pocket, Weft," Brarian says.

Weft roles on his side as a small bulge develops in his pocket. He pulls out the device and quickly attaches it to his collar.

Brarian continues talking to the both of them now. "I am changing the frequency that your old com picks up. Whatever that Time Lord hears, it won't be our conversation."

**{+==]***

Susan and Sven are in the Mod-Hopper, feeling nearly weightless. The white spacecraft has landed on the largest asteroid in the zone that used to contain Gallifrey and its moons. The two suns are still visible and the silver leaves on a clump of dying trees reflect the red and yellow glow. Sven has made two wall panels of the Hopper clear like windows. Susan gazes out of them for a long time. Sven gazes, too.

"Thanks, Sven," says Susan. "I just had to see it for myself." She turns away from the view.

"I'm not as surprised as I thought I would be," admits Sven. "You're lucky you were left on Earth. I mean, it was bad when I left and well, obviously, it became worse." Sven returns to his post at the console. He presses a button and the walls slowly fade back to opaque white.

Susan frowns. "We can't be the last of the Gallifreyans," she asserts. "I can still sense them, not as strong as before, but the feeling is still there."

"Maybe it is like when you lose your leg but you can still feel your foot itching."

Susan shook her head. She does not want to believe it. She is certain. "Do you really believe that Rassilon got every single Time Lord and Lady to fight? Do you really think you and I are the only ones who weren't in the vicinity of that... that..." she didn't have the word for the obliteration of her homeworld, "That!" she finally says, stabbing a finger towards the fading view of the asteroid field.

Sven purses his lips in thought. She did have a point. It did feel ridiculous – fantastic, perhaps – to think that he and this lovely young lady were the only survivors. "You're right," he concedes. "We avoided... that... by accident. I am sure there are some others who found a way to avoid it on purpose."

"Yes!" confirms Susan. "And Sven, we need to find them."

"Well, we have the perfect machine for it!" Sven smiled wide. He eagerly hunches over the console, his fingers rapidly pressing the typing pad keys. "I can make the scanner even more precise. By excluding all those who are engaged in the Time Locked Event..." he makes a few final clicks, "There we are. Now scanning for Time War survivors – that aren't us, of course."

Susan cannot contain her gleeful anticipation. Sven remains more calm. "Don't get your hopes up," he warns. "This machine isn't as powerful as she seems. The scanner range is not stupendous."

The machine clicks, whirrs, and then starts pinging.

"What is the pinging?" asks Susan. "Is it good? It sounds good. Has the scanner found someone?"

Sven looks at the screen read out. He answers her, "It has found two someones."

**[==+}**


	5. Out of Order: part 5

In the cold and dimly lit corridors of Storm Cage, the guards stand at attention. Their ears are carefully listening for the sound of the Tardis; the return of River Song to her rightful place behind bars. The whole thing is really just for show. Between her and the Doctor there really is no place that can hold River Song for long. She has found that having a permanent address makes it so much easier for the Doctor to find her.

The guards in Section A hear the whirring noise. They quickly move, holding two-way radios up and letting the other sections know that the Tardis is arriving. One of the guards slows his run and shouts into his radio, "What do you mean it is in Section G?"

In Section G the blue police box stands. A guards replies to another on his radio, "What do you mean she's in Section A?"

The guard in Section A is walking quickly in the direction from which he heard the whirring sound. He answers, "We heard the noise. What else could it be?" He turns the corner. He sees the rest of his squad there. They are all looking around, but can see nothing out of the ordinary. He speaks into his radio again, "You have a visual on the prisoner?" The question is answered affirmatively. "Must have been an echo then." He clips the radio back on his belt. "All right, men. False alarm. Go back to your posts."

As soon as all the guards have left the area, the door to the bathroom opens. Susan steps out excitedly, wearing a guard's uniform. Sven follows wearing his maintenance garb. Susan's excitement fades rapidly as she tries to figure out exactly where she is.

"Sven," Susan says quietly, "Where are we? Why did the Mod-Hopper recommend I wear this?"

Sven shrugged, "It's a place called Storm Cage. I'm thinking it is a prison."

"What? Only a few Gallifreyans left in the whole universe and two of them are in prison?"

"No everyone uses their Time-Travelling abilities for good," points out Sven. He sees the upset look on Susan's face. He tries to cheer her up. "But, maybe they aren't criminals. Maybe they are guards. Let's go look for them and find out."

River Song is behind bars. The Doctor kisses her hand sweetly and steps away. He nods politely to the group of guards flanking either side of his Tardis, then steps inside. He gives one last coy smile in the direction of River and closes the door. The Tardis fades away with its unmistakable noise.

When they hear it, Susan and Sven share a knowing look and start running. However, they are too late. The Tardis has disappeared and they are met with an empty corridor, with a single guard keeping a lazy watch over a woman with a mane of sandy blonde curls.

"We missed them!" groans Sven.

"You know who it was we missed, don't you?" Susan asks him.

"Yeah. The Doctor. I don't know any other Time Lord that leaves his parking brake on."

"I wonder who is travelling with him," muses Susan. She shrugs. "Well, I guess the hunt is on. Back to the Mod-hopper."

"Wait," says Sven. He lowers his voice. "Don't you feel an odd sensation? Like… like one of them is still here?"

Susan pauses. She glances about and notices the guards are making no attempt to hide their efforts to eavesdrop. She mumbles to Sven, "You're right. It's odd, though."

Sven nods in agreement. "It's like one of those scented candles; smells very real, but you know it isn't the real thing."

"Are you saying the Mod-Hopper found us a fake Gallifreyan?" Susan whispers.

"Are you looking for the Time Lord?" asks the prisoner, interrupting their conversation.

Sven steps forward, curious. "_The_ Time Lord?" he asks. "You talk as if there is only one."

"There is only one," responds the blonde woman. "He is the last of his kind. He is the last Time Lord and I am the last Time Lady."

"How did that happen?" demands Susan.

The woman gets a peculiar look upon her face, as if remembering the details hurt. "There was a war… he was the only one of his planet to survive."

"Then how did you –" began Sven.

"I am not of his planet. I am the result of Madam Kavorkian's efforts to make a Time Lady. She wanted to destroy the Doctor; she decided to fight fire with fire. She made a Time Lady to battle the Time Lord. Didn't work though. We fell in love instead."

"Will you excuse us?" says Susan. She pulls Sven off to the side. "She's crazy, right?" Susan whispers quickly. "She can't be a Time Lady. And why would anyone go to such lengths to destroy my grandfather? She doesn't know my grandfather. Perhaps this is an insane asylum and not a jail."

Sven shakes his head. He speaks softly, "Your grandfather has been through many changes since you last saw him."

"That's his fault, not mine," interjects Susan.

"He travels in a blue police box he calls the Tardis," the woman behind bars calls out.

Sven and Susan turn.

The woman smirks, "I have your attention now, don't I?"

Susan walks confidently upto the bars. "Tell us what you know about the Doctor," she demands.

"Tell me what you know about other Time Lords," River Song replies.

**End of Episode 1**

_Please note: The following things are my ideas and not part of the show's cannon_

_1) Susan's key made into a ring_

_2) Sweepers and Mod-Hoppers (and Sven for that matter)_

_3) The Paradox Eradication and Prevention Agency_

_The next episode is Invasion on the Planet of Xoanon._

_This is in part a tribute to one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes, The Face of Evil. If you have not seen this Fourth Doctor episode, check it out!_


	6. Invasion on the Planet of Xoanon: part 1

EPISODE TWO

**INVASION ON THE PLANET OF XOANON **

On a planet long since forgotten by the Doctor, an old man prepares for his death. He rests in a serene, white room. It is the most zen room one might ever behold, with soft beds perfect for peacefully awaiting an end to life. The elderly people are looked after by a group of three pale-skinned attendants.

"There is no need for concern," one attendant says to the placid-faced old man. "I have been in your place. If you have lived a life pleasing to Xoanon, your heart shall be renewed."

The old man takes a deep breath and sighs, closing his eyes and relaxing his limbs. The few others turn their heads towards him, hoping to see a preview of the miracle that awaits them. A soft shimmer of light envelopes the body of the old man. They can see the transformation occurring within the cocoon of mist and white light. As the mist clears, upon the bed lies the body of a man who is not yet fifty.

Another elder cries out, "It is my time!" She gasps and falls back. The attendants move stiffly towards her bed. However, for her there is no sparkling cloud.

The head attendant makes the pronouncement, "She is a meal for the horta. Dispose of her efficiently."

Not far away, in a stone hut, another man prepares to end his life. He is wrinkled and withered with age. He rests upon a cot as the Shaman, who owns this hut, blesses water and ointments. "By the will of Xoanon," the Shaman says in a low and reverent voice. He bows towards the metal post upon which a space helmet rests. A strong man dressed in animal skins sits hunched over on a small stool next to the cot. He holds his father's wrinkled hand. They speak in hushed tones or not at all.

"The Janis thorn is prepared, if you wish to proceed," the Shaman holds out the tiny thorn to the old man.

The old man lets go of his son's hand and takes the thorn from the Shaman. With the resolution of a former warrior, the old man drives the thorn into his palm. He closes his hand rapidly and his arms drop rigidly. Death comes quickly. The Shaman turns to fetch the ointments when the son calls to him in a surprised voice.

"Shaman Gordon! Look!"

The Shaman turns back around to see the corpse is enveloped in a white shimmering light. As the light fades away, they see that the stiff body of the old man has been replaced by a creature with blue skin and an absurdly large mouth. It's three eye lids flicker and open. He looks up at the Shaman and the man with recognition and confusion.

"Son," the creature says, then stops as if surprised by its own voice. It begins again, "what has happened?"

The Shaman has wasted no time. At the first sight of this strange phenomenon, he drew his dagger. However, as he moved to stab this repulsive creature, the man grabbed his arm.

"Stop! What are you doing?"

"What? You defend this strange beast?" The two begin to struggle against each other.

The creature sits up on the cot. He begins to shake in wonder as he views his changed body. A cry of pain catches his attention. The Shaman Gordon releases the handle of the dagger as the man the creature called son stumbles back, blood dripping down his chest and welling up is his mouth.

Then the shimmering glow surrounds this dying body as well. The Shaman gasps in horror. "It's an invasion!" He flees the protection of his stone hut as the father watches his son's body take on a similar shade of blue.

**{+==]**

The Doctor sits alone at the counter in a cozy diner with a friendly fifties theme. A wide eyed waitress with the name Oswin on her name tag serves him a plate of pancakes with syrup.

"Are you sure you don't have any soufflé?" the Doctor asks.

"Pancakes are the house specialty," the waitress says firmly. "Best thing in Perivale."

The Doctor poked at the pancakes with his fork.

"Oswin… that's an unusual name," he comments.

"It's a nickname. My friend Ace gave it to me," the waitress answered.

The Doctor is bemused. "You're friends with Ace?"

"Uh-huh," says the waitress as she wipes the counter with a rag. She stops when she has a realization. "You must be that academic type they say she ran away with!" she exclaims.

"Um, yes. I am The Doctor," he straightens his bow-tie.

"So, where's Ace?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Is she still traveling with you?"

"Uh… no," the Doctor answers. "I uh … I set her up at the Academy."

"Nice!" says the waitress, happy for her friend.

"I hoped it would be…" replies the Doctor, mostly to himself.

"So, I bet you need a new assistant now," the waitress says, eagerly beginning to take off her apron.

"Actually, Clara –"

"No one has called me Clara since the fifth grade," the waitress interrupted him.

"Do you mind if I call you Clara? It'd be such a bother to get used to Oswin…"

"If that's what it takes to go on an adventure," Clara Oswin answers.

The Doctor tells her, "I need your help solving a mystery while not looking like I'm solving a mystery."

"Sounds complicated."

"Someone is messing with History," the Doctor informs her.

"What do you mean?"

"Your job is to be the distraction. Don't let them know I'm solving the case. I'm supposed to leave it up to the professionals."

"But you wouldn't do that, would you?" says Clara knowingly.

"You're not related to Lee Harvey Oswald, by any chance, are you?"

"I don't wanna go with him! Last time, he threw me in the river!" says a small voice near the floor.

A look of puzzlement befalls both of their faces.

Another voice from the same place says in a stern tone, "Ethel, this isn't up for debate."

Clara crouches down to look under the table. "Doctor, I think it is coming from you. What's that thing in your pant cuff?"

Out from his up turned pant cuff the Doctor pulls the agent's communication device.

Whining, scuffling, and "Ethel, don't bite the Shaman!" comes through surprisingly clear on the tiny device.

"I don't think they know they were being recorded," says the Doctor.

"Where did that thingy come from?"

"It's the communications devices I saw those Agents wearing," says the Doctor.

"What agents?"

"I'm not sure. But they said they were definitely not CIA…"

"How'd their communication device end up in your pant cuff?" Clara wonders.

"Hmmm..." the Doctor begins musing. He hits upon an idea he likes. "They must secretly want me to help. Those voices… they came from some place that is emitting a very specific frequency." The Doctor's eyes light up with a thought he finds wonderful, "A frequency the agents knew would be important. We must investigate."

**{+==]**

The Tardis lands in a grassy area. The sun is just beginning to set, and the sky is rosy. A large cliff can be seen in the hazy background. A large face has been carved out of the stone; it is the face of the Doctor in his fourth self, when he had curly hair and wore a very long knit scarf. Clara steps out of the Tardis first, followed by the Doctor.

"This doesn't look like Hyde Park," says Clara. "Are you sure the Tardis has brought us to the right place?"

The Doctor uses his sonic screw driver to scan the communication device. "Hyde Park or not, the signal is coming from somewhere near here," the Doctor affirmatively.

"Then why did the Tardis tell us we were going to Hyde Park?" asks Clara.

The Doctor looks around, taking a few paces, squinching his mouth from side to side. "Ah hah! This is the location I end up at when I try to get to Hyde Park," the Doctor smiles at his ability to remember. He continues, "Rather odd anomaly. Made a knot in my hanky last time it happened to remember to check it out. Lost the hanky though..."

"So where are we?"

"The planet of Xoanon."  
"Who?"

"Xoanon; a sentient computer that was encouraging hostility among two tribes: the Sevateem and the Tesh. Fortunately, I came along and patched things up."

Just then, the group of travelers find themselves surrounded by several spears. Holding those spears are men and women wearing an odd combination of synthetic fabrics and animals skins. The fiercest looking of the tribe, a man with a scar running from his cheekbone to his jugular, announces, "You are now hostages of the Sevatesh!"

The Doctor leans to his companion. "See, I told you they joined together; Tesh, Sevateem, Sevatesh."

"What about the becoming peaceful part?" whispers Clara.

"I haven't been here for a while. I can't blame them for not recognizing me."

**{+==]*


	7. Invasion: part 2

In the house of the Commander, a worried mother is sitting upon the floor. Her daughter, Ethel is asleep, resting in her mother's lap. The mother strokes the blonde hair of her sleeping daughter.

"Please, Xander," she says in a hushed tone, "Don't make her go tomorrow."

Her husband sits with his head low, thinking. He does not answer her.

"Gordon is paranoid –"

"He is my top adviser, Luna. What would you have me do?"

"We aren't even sure what the Nullifying Room does. It is the room where old Tesh go to die. What does he think will happen to her in there?" Ethel stirs slightly. Luna carefully moves Ethel's head onto a pillow. The two adults move to another room, keeping their voices low.

Xander shakes his head. "It was such a blessing when we found her in that basket on our door-step. We thought… I had no inkling that she might be – What now? What if the tribe demands the Test?"

"They wouldn't," says Luna firmly. "The Test has never been done on a child."

The outside door swings open rapidly and in walks the man with the large scar. Behind him are the captives each guarded by someone with a spear.

"Azure, what brings the head of security to my home?" asks Xander.

The man bows stiffly, then swings his arm in a rapid arc, his finger pointing at the man in the bow-tie. "This man is claiming to be the Dok-Tor."

The Commander walks slowly, almost cautiously towards the strangers. He stands squarely in front of the one Azure pointed at so accusingly.

"If you are the Great Healer, Dok-Tor," asks the Commander, "Then where is your scarf?"

The Doctor answers quickly, "I wear a bow-tie now. Bow ties are cool."

"Commander," says the woman guarding the Doctor, "His neck wear has no thermal difference to the rest of his garments."

"He has the blue box," Azure reports.

There is still doubt. The Commander announces to the crowd, "We live in sight of the Great Healer's face. Eras ago, at Xoanon's request, the Tesh carved it into the rock. This," the Commander waves his hand towards the man in the bow-tie, "Is not the face of the Great Healer. Why does he come claiming his name is Dok-Tor?"

"He's Dok-Tor Junior!" shouts Clara from behind her guards. "This man is the Dok-Tor's first born son!"

"Bring that one forward," orders the Commander.

Clara is dragged to the front of the crowd by his spear wielding guard.

"It is a tradition on our planet," Clara goes on, hiding her nerves. "The father gives the first born son his name and teaches him his occupation."

"So, this new Dok-Tor is a Great Healer, too?"

Before the Doctor can say no, Clara speaks affirmatively, "Yes. He is. He is here because he sensed someone was in need of help."

"Guards, back down!" orders the Commander. The guards obey.

The Commander moves in close to the Doctor and whispers, "Can you cure my daughter?"

The Doctor hesitates, "Well, I .." Then, upon seeing the sad eyes of the mother, says, "Of course. I am a Great Healer."

"Then welcome. I am Xander and this is my wife, Luna."

"Commander Xander," says the Doctor. "I like that. Has a fun ring to it."

Azure steps forward to speak to the Commander. "I still say we take him to see the Chief. We should not let his twerpy friend misguide our judgment."

Commander Xander nods. "I agree, but not tonight. The sun has already begun to set."

"In the meantime, they will stay here, at our residence," says Luna in an authoritative voice.

Azure bowed to his Commander. "I will go and give a message to the Chief… and to Shaman Gordon. This may become a matter for Xoanon."

Azure and his pack of spear wielding guards turn and leave. Their unison is intimidating.

Once Azure and his band of warriors have left, Commander Xander gives a nod to his wife. With great joy and relief, she calls to her child. "Young one, wake-up," says Luna. "There is a man here we want you to speak with."

"It's not the Shaman, is it?" asks the child in a soft voice. She stands slowly strolls into the room.

"No, Ethel. It is the son of the Great Healer," says Xander, "And his helper."

The girl stops short. Her eyes keenly examine the thin man and the dark-eyed woman. "Where is the scarf?" asks the girl.

The Doctor kneels down to be at eye level with the girl. "Hello, what's your name?"

"I am Ethel. Where is your scarf?"

**{+==]***

In the morning, bright and early, the Doctor is led by Azure, the Commander, a few guards, and the Shaman to the stony face of his former self. He is forced to crawl over the lips of the Idol and into the mouth.

The cavern inside is brightly lit by the sunlight spilling through the mouth and a mix of electric and candle lamps. There are tunnels and transport tubes that lead to the home of Xoanon, the sentient computer. A sort of throne is set up in this brightly lit place. The Doctor correctly deduces that this is the space meant for the Chief of the two tribes. The room is empty at the moment except for a thin member of the Tesh, pacing in frustration. The pale-skinned man gives the group a helpless shrug, he does not know where the Chief and her guards have gone. The Shaman Gordon seems pleased and relieved at their absence. They move forward into the cavern.

**{+==]**

Clara and Ethel make drawings on chalk board tablets while Luna is mending hunting clothes.

"I thought Dok-Tor told you to examine my daughter while he was away," says Luna, full of suspicion.

"I will," says Clara. "I am trying to establish a positive report before I go poking and prodding. I'll be done before the Doctor is back from visiting that Xoanon fellow."

"Xoanon is not a fellow," Ethel corrects Clara. "Xoanon is a powerful being known as a Com-Pew-Terr."

"Is he your leader?" Clara asks Luna.

Luna answers, "He sees everything to the river's edge. He gives us advice and answers questions."

"I'm done with my picture Clara," announces Ethel. She holds up the picture. "I drew what you said."

On the black tablet, drawn with colorful chalk is an odd figure with blue skin and yellow hair. The picture seems Picasso-esque, with a large nose on the side of the head and three eyes spanning across the face. Clara does not know what to make of it. Luna, on the other hand, recognizes is right away and is clearly upset. "Oh! Young one! Why did you draw a Galph?"

"She said to draw what I was going to be when I grew up," Ethel answers.

*{+==]***

The Doctor stands in the room with the giant screen of Xoanon. His hands are in his pockets, he is completely unafraid. On either side of him stand two guards, bowing their heads respectfully. In front of them, speaking in formal tones to the flickering images, is Shaman Gordon.

"Great Xoanon, seer of all things to the river's edge, you are well aware of the return of the blue box. We come to you to ask if this man is truly the son of the Dok-Tor."

Xoanon's images flicker, then come together to form a face. "This seems a matter for the Chief. Why have you come to me first?"

"I was wondering that myself," the Doctor interjects.

Gordon steps back. "The Chief is out on another one of her explorations. This seemed a matter of urgency."

Xoanon face turns friendly. "I have scanned this man's DNA structure. He is certainly related to the one who came at the dawn of the second era."

The Doctor, who is tired of waiting, steps forward to interrupt. "Well, now that my identity has been confirmed, I was hoping to get a bit of one-on-one time with the great Xoanon."

One half of the screen remains a face with an annoyed look. The other half becomes numbers and images. Xoanon's attention remains on Gordon. "The drones send word that the Chief has returned."

"We shall meet her at the Idol's Mouth." Shaman Gordon bows.

Xoanon's entire screen then becomes the flickering numbers and images.

"I suppose that is a no to the one-on-one chat then," says the Doctor.

The Shaman waves his hand and the guards respond by lifting the Doctor slightly off his feet and deftly carrying him out of the room.

*{+==]*


	8. Invasion: part 3

In the Idol's mouth, the Tesh eagerly greets the Chief as the guards take their posts.

"You missed another one of our history lessons, my Chief."

The Chief does not seem to mind. "We were exploring. I think geography is so much more interesting."

"You are the Chief of two tribes. It is your responsibility to understand both of them and Xoanon."

"And I will. I just think that knowing history isn't going to help me deal with current issues."

The teacher straightens himself. He is done with debate. "Recite the passage you were to memorize."

The young Chief smirks and sits herself in the throne as she says, "We were of two tribes and Xoanon was of two minds."

"Go on," says her teacher.

"One mind wise and full of knowledge. The other was cruel and forced the two tribes apart. While apart, the two tribes grew in number and strength. The Sevateem grew strong in body and will. The Tesh grew strong in brain and thought." She pauses to take a gulp of water from her travel canteen.

"However, Xoanon did not wish to be of double mind. He called to him one that could help. A great healer called Dok-Tor. Dok-Tor came. He went to the place where Xoanon dwells. He wrapped his magic healing scarf around the head of Xoanon and the evil mind was destroyed."

"Not _exactly_ how it happened," the Doctor says as he is escorted into the room.

The Chief sits up happily upon seeing this visitor. "Hello, Dad!" says Jenny.

"Jenny!?" exclaims the Doctor. He did not expect to see her here. "So nice to see a familiar face," is all he can think to say.

"I wish I could say the same," replies Jenny as she gives him a big hug.

The people around them are stunned by this exchange.

The Shaman breaks-up the awkward family reunion. "You claim that this man is your father?" he asks Jenny. He cuts her off before she answers, "Be aware, this man is claiming that he is the son of the Great Healer Dok-Tor."

"Why has he come to our planet?" asks the teacher. "Why were _you _in conference with the Great Xoanon?"

"I am sick of you seeking council without me!" Jenny snarls.

The Doctor interjects, "I came here because I felt someone was in need of help."

"Are you here to help stop the invasion?" asks Jenny eagerly.

Gordon scoffs and glares at the Jenny. "You finally take an interest in the Invasion, Chief."

"I banished them to beyond the river. Xoanon's droids make sure that is where they stay. What more did you expect from me?" Jenny answers in a frustrated tone.

"Re-instate the Test," answers the Shaman.

Chief Jenny straightens her back and addresses Xander. "Commander, take these guards back to the village. This man is no threat to any of us."

The Commander eagerly removes himself from the cavern, followed by the guards. The Shaman is reluctant to leave. As he goes, he says to the Doctor, "If you want to know about the Invasion, you should have just told me. I was the one who first uncovered the Galphs' dirty secret."

"Please," says the Doctor, "Stay and tell us more." He takes a seat on the arm of the Chief's throne. Jenny and the Tesh teacher also sit.

The Shaman, his ego stroked by an attentive audience, begins to tell the story.

"An old one lay dying, and I, the Shaman, was preparing the last rites. The old one's son sat by his side. I had never done last rights for someone dying of old age. The Sevateem tend to die of war wounds and hunting accidents. However, there was something else odd; I could sense it. This dying man claimed to be one of the cave children of decades past."

"Cave children?" Jenny interrupts the story.

"It was in your reading about the first era," the teacher says in a frustrated tone.

Shaman Gordon clears his throat and continues the story.

"The old one took the Janis thorn I had prepared. He plunged it into his palm and fell back. Yet, the poison did not kill him. There was a shimmer and the human disguise was destroyed. Upon the cot there was a loathsome blue creature with a mouth wide enough to swallow a man's open hand. I took up a knife to defend myself. However, it was not the beast, but his son that attacked. I knew what to do right away. I plunged the knife into the chest of my attacker. Behold! His disguise shimmered away as well. Two blue beasts, not exactly alike, but equal in hideousness chased me out of the sacred hut."

"And were never seen again?" asks Clara, thinking she knows how the story ends.

"Oh! They were seen again!" says the Shaman. "And more like them were discovered."

"How so?" asks the Doctor.

"We created a test. The blue beasts cannot maintain their human disguises during a near death experience. Those that failed the test were banished to the other side of the river. The Tesh created bots for us to patrol the river's edge."

"And what happened to those that passed the test?" asks the teacher, knowing what the answer is.

"They were given proper burials," answers the Shaman.

"Which is why I put a stop to the non-sense," says Jenny.

"Did a Tesh ever undergo a test?" asks the Doctor.

"No," says Shaman Gordon and spits. "They claimed it was all McCarthyism."

"McCarthyism?" the Doctor repeats with curiosity.

Jenny responds quickly, "There this time on Earth in Salem. People were getting burned at the stake for being Communists."

The Doctor paused, unsure exactly how inaccurate Jenny's definition was. "I think it is clear what we should do next," he says. "We should go visit a Galph."

"I'll lead the way!" offers Jenny.

"Perfect! We'll need to stop and pick up Clara."

"What happened to Donna?" asks Jenny.

**[==+}**

Luna and Ethel sit on a small cot. Ethel is reading out loud from a large book with pictures. Clara sits outside the doorway, puzzling over the pictures that Ethel has drawn. The Doctor and Jenny enter unnoticed. The Doctor speaks quietly, "What's that she's reading?"

Clara looks up, unstartled. "I think it's their Bible," she answers.

Ethel now reads, "As payment, Dok-Tor took one called Leela as his hand-maiden. They stepped into a box the color of the evening sky and vanished. So began the Second Era."

Luna looks up to see the Doctor and Chief Jenny.

"Nicely read, Ethel," Luna compliments her daughter. She gets up from the cot moves to the door. "Keep reading," she instructs to Ethel. She then turns her attention to her guests. "Chief Jenny! What brings you here?"

"What's this?" asks the Doctor, taking notice of the picture Clara was holding. "Looks like something I once saw in a textbook."

"We call it a Galph," explains Luna. "Ethel seems to think she's going to turn into one someday."

"But, she's physically fine, Doctor," Clara assures him. "After Luna saw that picture, she made me perform every type of test I could think to do."

"And you discovered that she's basically a human that has been genetically enhanced thanks to the socio-political guidance of a computer with an interest in eugenics."

"Um… yeah. A bit of a late bloomer considering her age, but nothing to get alarmed about. I don't know what is giving her the delusion that she'll turn into a monster."

"So, Dok-Tor," says Luna, "She doesn't need to go to that chamber, right?"

Jenny answers instead. "The Nullification Chamber is Tesh technology. The Shaman has no authority to recommend its use."

Luna smiles.

"Come, Clara," says Jenny. "You are to join us on our…" she stops herself before mentioning Galphs in front of a worried parent. "Expedition."

**{+==]***

As they make their way through the jungle towards the river, the Doctor and Clara discuss the curious nature of the two tribes.

"So, there are still two tribes, the Tesh and the Sevateem, it is just that Jenny is the chief of them both," the Doctor says, completing his little lecture to Clara.

"You know what bothers me," says Clara, "Is how these two tribes became so big."

"What do you mean?" asks Jenny.

"Well, the Doctor said that these two tribes are the descendants of a survey team and technicians that were stranded here."

"Yeah, that's what Xoanon told me, too," says Jenny.

"A survey team of what… six at most? A group of technicians… four, tops. How did the tribes get so big?"

"You make a good point," admits the Doctor.

"I still don't get it," confesses Jenny.

"Babies…sex…" Clara is hoping she won't have to elaborate further.

"Don't blame her for not knowing," the Doctor whispers to Clara. "She's a clone."

"I thought you said she was your daughter."

"She is… via cloning."

"But she looks nothing like you!"

Jenny announces, "We're here."

The Doctor and his crew stand at the edge of the river. The sun has just begun setting. Clara holds up an oil lamp. The river is wide, and the bridge that once crossed it has been burned to two sets of charred stumps on either bank. Not far from the shore a village of huts can be seen. The warm flicker of fire-light illuminates everything. The Doctor quickly assesses the speed and temperature of the river water, then begins to take off his shoes.

"What are you doing?" asks Jenny.

"Swimming is easier with your shoes off," explains the Doctor.

"We're going to swim across? Can't we just gaze from a distance?" asks Clara.

"What are you afraid of? Can't swim?"

"I can swim. There just might be… things in the water."

"Oh, I wouldn't get too concerned. The water must be safe, I can see someone bathing just up-stream," says the Doctor.

Clara and Jenny look in the direction the Doctor is gesturing. In the shade of the trees, softly lit by lantern, there seems to be the figure of a person shoulders deep in the water. As they look, the figure turns towards them and they know they've been seen. The figure dives and loud splashes indicate that it is swimming towards them.

The water distorts his size, but he is clearly tall. The Doctor stands close to the bank, eager to meet a new species. Clara and Jenny recall the fear and disgust held by the Sevateem and stand back. The Galph rises from the water. Black hair clings to his narrow face. In profile, he has two spines, one pushing the other from underneath, causing pieces to jut through the skin. His shoulders are very broad. His skin is blue, with freckles of pasty flesh tone. He tilts his head to one side, then brushes the wet hair clinging to his face. If he wanted to, he could literally grin from ear to ear.

His mouth opens to speak, revealing two tongues inside his double-wide mouth. Before a word is spoken, the blue shock wave comes through the forest. The Doctor and his companions stumble when impacted. The Galph is swallowed up by the light when it passes over him. A bridge stands where there were once the burned stumps.


	9. Invasion: part 4

The Doctor and his companions quickly regain their balance and watch the remains of the blue shock wave pass over the village, leaving in its wake minor yet jolting alterations.

"What was that blue thing?" asks Clara.

"Which blue thing?" asks Jenny. "The Galph or that light?"

"That blue light was a Retroactive Time Pulse," announces the Doctor. He begins to walk across the bridge.

"What did it do to the Galph?" Jenny asks joining the Doctor as he crosses. Clara follows.

"Hard to explain the specifics," says the Doctor. "In general, the Retroactive Time Pulse alters events in an effort to get ahead of and negate an impending paradox."

"What impending paradox?" asks Clara.

"I can't really say. One involving Galphs, obviously – or at least that Galph."

"How can a paradox be impending? Either it is or it isn't," Clara claims.

The Doctor tries to explain, "Think of it this way: a time traveler goes back in time and kills his mother; thus preventing himself from being born, thus preventing himself from growing up and building a time machine, thus preventing him from going back in time to kill his mother. Paradox."

"I understand what a paradox is."

The Doctor continues, "The Retroactive Time Pulse – RTA for short – basically tries to redirect or alter the chain of events to make it all possible."

They reach the other side of the bridge and begin walking towards the village of the Galph.

"So, with your matricidal time traveler, it might give the mother a twin sister," Clara says to show she understands.

"Exactly," confirms the Doctor.

"Why not just make the killing be unsuccessful?" Jenny cuts in.

"What makes the killing the paradox starter? Why not stop the creation of a successful time machine?" the Doctor points out.

"Or, for that matter," says Clara, "Get someone who isn't a time traveler to kill the mother.

Jenny begins, "Since the paradox is really about the killer's identity -"

The Doctor interrupts,"Can we stop talking about killing pregnant women? It's just depressing."

An electric blue light washes over everything. The three hardly notice that they are no longer on the river's edge. They are now climbing craggy rocks.

"Why is it called a time _Pulse_?" Jenny asks the Doctor.

"More often than not, the first set of alterations does not negate the paradox, they are too minor; so that shock wave passes over again and again," explains the Doctor. "What we recently experienced was the first wave; the next wave will be much less noticeable, except maybe to time sensitive beings. Memories change, if our reason for being here vanishes, we may find ourselves in a completely new location the next time that shock wave passes over."

When they stop to look around, they are on a bluff behind some boulders. The Face of the Idol is not far away.

"There it is!" exclaims Jenny, pointing to something in the distance. "That must be the Legendary Glowing Cave. I told you I could find it. It was part of my studies."

The mouth of the Glowing Cave is blocked by heavy boulders. However, a soft red glow shines through the gaps. Upon closer inspection, a narrow crawlspace has been created.

"I call dibs on crawling in first!" says Jenny, impatient to act.

"I need a new plan," answers the Doctor.

"What was the old plan?" asks Clara.

"I intended to go into the Glowing Cave and you know… do my thing," the Doctor responds almost sheepishly. "I obviously can't do it now, the tunnel is too small."

"I said I would do it," Jenny chimes.

"Why is this cave so important?" asks Clara. "Why is it blockaded in the first place?"

Jenny answers calmly, "When the green glow changed to red, the Shaman claimed that it was a sign that the demons had won the war. It seemed a proper first defense."

"Wait… War? With demons?" the Doctor spun to face Jenny. "What are you talking about?"

Jenny begins to speak, but the Doctor stops her. "On second thought," he says, "Let's ask Xoanon to show me. I am not sure you are the best resource when it comes to events of the past."

**{+==]**

The investigative team of Jenny, Clara, and the Doctor are in the room with Xoanon's screen, guards on either side of the great computer.

Jenny whispers to the Doctor, "Bow your head in the presence of the mighty Com-Pew-Terr."

The Doctor, head bowed, speaks, "May I approach and confer with the Great Xoanon?"

The machine, pleased by his humble approach, responds, "I would enjoy a conference with a Time Lord."

The Doctor steps forward, almost too eagerly. He says, "I am seeking information about your past. A visual recording if possible. Images of the Glowing Cave."

One half of the screen remains a face with a look of suspicion. The other half becomes numbers and images. Soon, the entire screen is a selection of optional videos. "The cave is within my short range scanner. I have organized the images in order of activity and number of individuals," Xoanon's voice is heard to say.

The Doctor is not sure which video clip he wants to watch. Impatient, Jenny strides up to the screen and taps one of the images. Immediately, the film begins to run.

The Glowing Cave is not emitting the red glow they saw before. Instead, it is glowing green. Three guards stand-by. Then, through the cave comes three Daleks!

The Doctor is startled. "That's a Dalek!" he cries out to Xoanon.

"Thank you. I will enter that information into my memory banks."

"Do you know why they have egg-beaters for arms?" Jenny asks.

"You don't understand. That's a Dalek!" protests the Doctor.

His attention is drawn back to the viewing screen and he watches one of the guards swoop behind the Dalek and snap its mechanical arm before it can fire. The other guard kicks the head of the Dalek which causes the hatch to open and the pathetic squid to be revealed. A spear pierces the Dalek's squishy head and it is left on the ground.

Jenny smiles with pride, "I did anticipate the cave being used by the enemy. However, the Sevatesh could clearly handle it. Those three must have been scouts, since we have had no other attacks."

"So, the cave is more of a tunnel," says Clara.

"Yes," affirms Jenny. "Well, when it is glowing. We used it to send troops once a month, just as Leela requested."

"Leela?" the Doctor's eyes widened at the sound of his old companion's name.

Xoanon's screen fills with pictures of the feisty Sevateem woman.

"She told me she travelled with you, Dad."

"She did. I left her back on Gallifrey." The Doctor thinks for a brief moment. "Of course! She was recruiting soldiers for the Time War. Not surprising on her part, but still…"

His thoughts are interrupted when a member of the Tesh comes running into the chamber.

"I am sorry, Chief Jenny, but you must come and see!" he cries.

Jenny leaves without hesitation. The Doctor and Clara quickly follow.

A crowd has gathered in front of the Glowing Cave. A crude semi-circle has formed around Shaman Gordon. He is preaching loudly to those who have gathered. Three droids sit dormant off to the side.

"I warned you all! Now do you see? The blockade is compromised. And we know what has been sneaking in. "

Commander Xander steps forward from the crowd. "Gordon, this is foolish. Banishing was sufficient. They have posed no threat for years."

"So, you deny their attempts at infiltration? You deny the true nature of your adopted daughter?" the Shaman grabs the wrist of the young girl, yanking her away from Luna's side.

"Ethel!" Luna cries.

The Shaman pulls Ethel back to the center of the semi-circle with him. The red glow of the cave is on their backs, their faces lit be the torches and oil lamps held by the attentive crowd. The Shaman grabs Ethel by the shoulders and turned her towards the Glowing Cave.

He speaks to her in a voice that all can hear. "Look at that cave. I can see it in your eyes. You are not afraid; you are curious. It is because you are eager to see your home planet."

Chief Jenny arrives and hears the crowd chanting, "Test! Test! Test!"

As she pushes through the crowd, she hears a child scream.

However, the Shaman's knife has not touched Ethel. Instead, gasping upon the ground is Luna.

Jenny shakes her head as the glittering mist and white light begins to surround the bleeding woman.

The Doctor calls out orders, "Jenny, take her to the Nullification Chamber. Clara, run ahead and tell them to prepare a space."

The Commander steps forward and easily lifts the body of his wife. The Shaman tries to intervene. "Clearly she is a Galph, like the rest of them," he shouts out to the dissipating crowd. "Does she not deserve banishment like the rest?"


	10. Invasion: part 5

**[==+}*

All is calm in the Nullification Chamber. Two very old Tesh sit up slowly as they hear the commotion just outside the door. In rushes a dark haired woman and a man in a bow tie. Behind them comes a Sevateem man carrying a Galph. Following directions, he gently lays the Galph down upon one of the open beds.

"Dok-Tor," the Sevateem man says softly, "I think it is too late."

"Nonsense," says the Doctor. "The initial transformation may only last minutes, but it takes a good fifteen hours before anything is permanent. If your wife were conscious, she could change her look to whatever she wanted."

"What is this place, Doctor?" Clara asks.

"What they call it is not important. What is important is what it does," replies the Doctor. "Look." He sweeps his arm over the bed. The blue creature upon the bed is changing. The face narrows, the three eyes becoming two, the wide mouth shrinking to a Mona Lisa smile.

"Luna? Luna can you hear me?" the Commander can hardly contain himself. "Dok-Tor, is it really still Luna in there?"

One of the Chamber attendants approaches the intruders. "When she awakes, she will have all the old memories of Luna," he says. "However, much about her will be completely new."

The Commander rests his head against his wife's chest. Then he pulls away in alarm.

"Let me guess," says the Doctor. "It sounds like she has two hearts."

"Yes! How did you know?"

The elderly couple that had been there when the Sevateem had burst in were now sitting in their beds and complaining to the attendants. How was it that a member of the savage Sevateem could receive the blessings of Xoanon?

"The blessings of Xoanon?" says the Doctor. "You think Xoanon is responsible for this?"

"Yes," affirms the attendant.

"You have been seeing successful regenerations for quite some time now. Your records note more transformations than deaths, correct?"

"Yes," responds the attendant.

"How old was the youngest Tesh that transformed?"

"One hundred twelve," answers the attendant after a moment of thought.

"And how do you handle the ones who die?"

"They are fed to the horta, the same as the Sevateem do with their dead."

The Doctor nods, "It's hard to regenerate when your bits are in hundreds of different stomaches."

"What are you saying, Dad?" asks Jenny.

"That the Galphs are not aliens with human disguises. They are you and you are them." He lets this statement sink in before continuing. "Clara, you wanted to know how the tribes got so big. It is because soon after the tribes were established they were supplemented by children from Gallifrey. They came through the Glowing Cave. It is the reason the Tesh regenerate. The Sevateem are regenerating, too."

"But why are we regenerating now? Why not sooner? Death has come to our tribe members many times."

"It is a quirk of Gallifreyan anatomy," the Doctor explains. He tries to use shorter words. "We are born with one heart. We don't have the ability to regenerate right away – it takes us at least one hundred years. If we die young, well, we just stay dead."

"No Tesh has ever transformed into those blue creatures," says an elderly Tesh.

"It must be a curse upon the Sevateem. Xoanon's blessing makes us transform into beings of youth and beauty," says the other.

"It isn't Xoanon!" insists the Doctor. "The toxins in the air, the poisons in the body, the ill will of the sentient beings around us… all can lead to dangerous deformations." The Doctor spins around the room in excitement. "It's this room! You have inadvertently created a Zero Room."

"Then it must be our choice whether we share it with savages," says the head attendant.

"Now, wait," says Jenny. "I am the Chief of both tribes..."

Before Chief Jenny can say another word, a wave of blue light, stronger than any that came before, floods the room. The Doctor squints and groans as he blacks out.

**{+==]**

When the Doctor regains conciousness, he is in a room that looks like Clara's kitchen.

"No, why do you ask?" Clara is saying.

"Ask what?" responds the Doctor. He shakes himself, working to remember where he is.

"Am I related to Lee Harvey Oswald..."

The Doctor sits and fishes around in his pant leg cuff. He finds the communication device.

Clara asks, "What is that?"

"There was a little girl who thought she was turning into a monster," says the Doctor. He holds the device up to his ear, but hears nothing. "I guess she won't have to worry about it anymore."

**{+==]**

Clara is sleeping peacefully in her bedroom in the Tardis. She does not wake as the room fills with blue light. However, in his reading room, the Doctor springs awake, his mind buzzing with new and conflicting memories. He opens his eyes to find the walls of the room covered with pictures, crayon drawings made on pieces of scrap paper, pictures of Galphs. Below the several dozen pictures, on a small cot, sleeps Ethel.

Quick as a wink, the Doctor is banging on the door to Clara's room. Clara answers, "What is it?" she hisses. "I spent all day entertaining the kid. The least you can do is let her sleep in your room."

"What color was the Glowing Cave?" asks the Doctor.

"Red. Why do you ask?"

"Did you ever see a Galph?"

"Just the one by the river. What's with all the questions?"

"You remember the Retroactive Time Pulse?" the Doctor asks.

"No. What's that? Does it make you forget things? Have you been affected?" Clara starts to worry.

"Who killed Abraham Lincoln?" the Doctor presses on with his questions.

"Lee Harvey Oswald," Clara answers as if she's in school.

Now the Doctor is again uncertain of which memories are real or fake.

"Doctor," says a small voice behind him. The Doctor turns to see Ethel standing there, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yes, Ethel?" the Doctor kneels down to be at eye level with her.

"Why do you own a Zero Room?" she asks, pointing to a doorway just down the hall.

The Doctor squinches his face in thought. He pulls out his sonic screwdriver and waves it over her arm. He reads the results of his scan.

"You have traces of the triple helix," he tells Ethel.

"What does that mean?" Ethel asks.

"It means you are not completely human."

"I already knew that," says the young girl.

"Doctor, I'm going back to bed," announces Clara.

"Yes. We should all go back to bed," agrees the Doctor. He stands. "What are you doing out of bed in the first place, Ethel?" He guides her back to her cot.

"I was having funny dreams," Ethel answers.

"Funny dreams?"

"Yeah. There is this big blue light and then I remember things that I'm pretty sure didn't happen, or I remember things that did happen and all my friends forget."

"That happens to me, too," murmurs the Doctor. He pulls the blanket up around her. "Don't worry about it for now. Just try to get some sleep."

He stands and peers at Ethel's drawings. He rubbs his tempels as he feels another headache coming on.

"Perhaps," he says to himself, "Perhaps I should leave this up to the professionals."

**End of Episode Two**

_Please note: While the show has never shown a deformed Gallifreyan, such deformations have been hinted at. The ninth doctor mentions having two heads or no head when he regenerates. Romana put on a sort of regeneration show for the fourth doctor, including a body with blue skin._

_The next episode is The Undying. It features my favorite villain, the Rani. _


	11. The Undying: part 1

EPISODE THREE

**THE UNDYING**

We join our time-traveling trio of the Doctor, Clara and Ethel, as they ride in the Tardis. The Doctor is aimlessly steering as Clara watches, bright eyed. Ethel cheerfully bounds into the room.

"Doctor," asks Ethel, "I found this on the kitchen table. What is it?"

Clara says, "That is my book! One-hundred one places to visit."

"Huh..." chimed the Doctor. "I've often thought of compiling a book... most amazing places in the universe...Of course I'm not much for sitting down and writing."

"Perhaps one of your companions could do it..." Clara suggests.

"That lot of hitchhikers?"

Ethel tries to join the conversation, "Well, would anything in this book be in your book?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what is in that book."

Ethel opens the book to a random page. "The Amazing Rain Forest..." she begins to read.

Clara corrects her, "Am-a-zon Rain Forest."

"Please..." moaned the Doctor.

"What? Not that great?" asked Clara.

Clara looks at the page. "It says here that the Amazon Rain Forest is a place of unparalleled biodiversity."

Ethel holds the book out for the Doctor to look. He barely glances at it.

Ethel is puzzled. "Earth has to have a couple of entries in your book. You visit there often enough."

"Yes, yes, but it's for the people! Not the places."

Clara, eager for a trip, queries, "Have you even been to the Amazon?"

The Doctor was surprised by her question. "What? Of course I – well there was this one time I flew over-" He is clearly flustered. "Alright, fine. No," he finally admits.

Clara repeats, "No? You visit London and New York many times and you've never even bothered to -"

"I said I visit for the people!"

"Yeah, but still..."

"Fine, Oswald. You wanna go? We'll go. Let's go to the Amazon Rain Forest."

The Doctor pushes the buttons and pulls the necessary levers. Their next adventure begins.

**{+==]**

In a laboratory, on Earth, a woman in a lab coat is distilling liquids and thoughtfully making notes. Behind her can be seen birds in cages and large pieces of high-tech equipment. She hears the unmistakable whirring sound of the Tardis coming from outside. She looks up from her work in disbelief.

In a soft whisper to herself, "No... could it be...?"

She rushes out of the room, taking off the lab coat as she goes. Underneath the coat is the costume she is known for wearing: a fitted, shiny jacket, and tight pants in a matching color. Unlike the Doctor, this lady found a fashion style she liked and stuck to it. However, her new costume includes tall, rugged boots.

In a small clearing in the rainforest, the Tardis appears in all its blue glory. It stands out like a jewel amid the bright green plants of the rainforest. The woman steps out from behind a large tree. She beholds the blue box with glee.

" It _is_ him!" she smiled a tight, knowing smile. "After all these years!"

The Tardis door opens. The woman hides behind the large tree.

The Doctor, Ethel, and Clara step out of the Tardis. They are rubbing their faces as if rubbing in sunblock. The Doctor is in his traditional garb, this time wearing a pith helmet.

"Make sure the lotion is completely rubbed in," the Doctor instructs Clara and Ethel.

Clara, ever doubting Gallifreyan technology, asks, "Now how good is this stuff?"

The Doctor proclaims, "Anti-venom, anti-toxin, anti—well the list of things it doesn't protect against would probably be shorter." Stepping out in front of his tiny tour group, he turns to them and asks, "How's my face? Did I get everywhere?"

He leads them into the South American jungle.

The woman comes out of her hiding place. She approaches the Tardis. Smirking, she takes a key out of her pocket. Without hesitation, she unlocks the door. The Tardis gives no resistance. She lets herself in, checking to be sure she is unseen.

She finds herself in the main control room of the Doctor's time traveling machine. The closes the door behind her with an air of smugness. She talks half to herself, half to the time machine as she walks about the space, looking at the various control panels.

"Oh, he's really changed it since last time. I wonder how much he's changed? Ah, here we go..."

She finds the panel she was looking for, there is a key-board with Gallifreyan lettering. She types quickly and carefully. A screen slides up from below. On the screen is a picture of the current Doctor, with his various stats, including his age.

"That young and on his eleventh regeneration already? Really! He'll be needing the elixir before I've perfected it. What's he been doing with his lives?"

*{+==]*

Meanwhile, Ethel and Clara are enjoying their exploration of the rainforest. The Doctor is lecturing to Clara and Ethel, but more for the joy of hearing himself talk than to convey any new information to them. "Ah, the Amazon Rainforest. I can't believe I didn't visit here sooner..." He stops to admire a small lizard climbing a tree. "You just don't get a flora-fauna blend quite like this anywhere else. All around me I see life!"

A large bird swoops in front of the Doctor's face, snatches the lizard off the tree branch and flies away.

"And death..." the Doctor paused in brief thought. "Life and Death! All around me I see the _cycle_ of life!"

The trio trudges on, with no more thought to the fate of the lizard and bird.

The lizard deserves more attention. The bird, in mid-flight, decides the lizard tastes awful and spits it out. The lizard lands on the ground with a thud, clearly dead. A golden glow starts emitting from it.

*{+==]*


	12. The Undying: part 2

In the Tardis, the lady in green is watching the Tardis's Matrix screen. Though it hasn't been used in a while, it still works well. It shows her the highlights and intriguing details of the Doctor's adventures.

"Oh, this stuff is good! I should get some pop-corn." The scientist has let go of any objective study of the time-traveler. She is now watching his past adventures as one enjoys watching a fool. She pauses the viewing screen and strolls out of the room. She knows where to find a pantry in a Tardis.

*{+==]**

Back to the rainforest, the glow around the lizard diminishes; a new lizard, with slightly different markings is in the dead lizard's place. The creature gets up, shakes itself off, and begins to wander about. He strolls across the Doctor's foot, but goes completely unnoticed.

Clara is entertaining a colorful bird. The Doctor is trying (and in many ways succeeding) to converse with a primate. Ethel invites a poisonous tree frog to jump into her hand.

Clara, always with one eye on any impulsive child, rushes over and grabs her wrist. "Ethel! Don't do that!"

"Relax," Ethel chided. "What good is wearing anti-poison lotion if you don't touch anything deadly?"

Nervously, Clara called out, "Doctor, how strong is that lotion?"

"Very strong, until it wears off," the Doctor replied nonchalantly.

"When does it wear off?" they asked, as three little tree frogs hop into Ethel's hands.

The Doctor tries to recall what it had said on the bottle. "I'd say... three hours? Four tops. How long have we been out here?"

Ethel drops the frog.

Clara, panicking, "Long enough that Ethel shouldn't be touching colorful frogs."

Ethel groaned, "I don't feel so good." She stars to drop to her knees. Clara catches her as she falls.

The Doctor, always assured that he can save the day, said, "Never to worry. Definitely something in the Tardis medicine cabinet." He turned to the primate, "Nice chatting with you, fellow, but we've got to run."

*{+==]**

Back in the Doctor's Tardis, the lady has just viewed one of the 9th Doctor's adventures. She pauses, rewinds and rewatches the moment. The Doctor, as his ninth self, tells Rose that he knows he is the only Time Lord left, he would feel it if it were otherwise. The scientist rewinds and watches again, laughing at the presumptuous nature of the man in a leather jacket.

The Doctor bursts into the room, followed by Clara carrying Ethel. Ethel is fading in and out of consciousness. They don't notice the woman at first. When the Doctor and his companions enter, the woman pauses the clip and takes notice of them. She stays silent, but makes no attempt to hide or flee.

The Doctor tries to stay in control. He gives instructions to Clara, "Okay, you stay here. I'll go find... whatever it is."

"You don't even know what will cure her?" Clara's panic turned into frustration.

"I'm not that kind of Doctor!" he shouts as he darts out of the room.

Clara notices a dark-haired woman wearing green kneeling by her side. A small syringe is in her hand.

"Tree frog poisoning?" the woman asks in a brisk voice.

Clara blinked. "Yes. Wait – who are y-"

"This'll do the trick." She injects Ethel in the arm. Ethel snaps to and shakes herself.

"What was that?" Ethel asks, inquisitive as ever.

The Doctor reenters the room and immediately turns to the stranger, "Who are you? How'd you get in here?"

The woman answers Ethel's question in a calm and professional manner, "That was an antidote to the poison I invented. You're lucky you were wearing anti-poison lotion. You would have been dead within seconds otherwise."

The Doctor dislikes being ignored. "I believe the frogs are poisonous naturally. What do you mean you invented the poison?"

The woman turns to him with a coy grin. "Alright, I should say improved. After just months of research, I was able to triple the toxicity of all the blue ones."

Ethel, hard to be led off topic, says, "You still haven't answered our first two questions."

"I beg your pardon?"

Ethel repeats the earlier questions, "Who are you? And -"

The Doctor takes over, "and how did you get in here? Yes. I'm particularly interested in that."

"I had a key," answers the woman.

Clara is more confused than ever. "How does someone get a Tardis key?"

The woman calmly explains, "It comes with every Time Traveling capsule. A manufacturing flaw – all Type 40 TT vessels have the same lock design."

The wheels of Doctor's mind were spinning, "And when did you get a Type 40?"

The lady in green smirks, "When I graduated from the academy." She narrows her eyes at the Doctor, "When did you get yours?"

The Doctor doesn't answer her question. "Which academy?" he inquires.

"The only one. On Gallifrey."

Ethel's eyes light up. "You're a Time Lord! Or... Time Lady, if you prefer -"

Clara refuses to come to that conclusion. "No... The Doctor said he's the only one left."

"I am the only one left," the Doctor assures Clara.

The woman bursts out laughing.

She stops chuckling long enough to say, "The only one left! Yes! That's what the Matrix said, too."

"The Matrix?" Ethel asks.

The Doctor, not to let this lady in a shiny green coat run the show, quickly provided the answer. "The Matrix is a device that records everything that happens in and around the Tardis and plays it back on command." The Doctor turns to the woman who has finished laughing and is now simply standing with the most blatant feeling of superiority. "What were you laughing about? What did you see?"

"Just this," the woman answers. She swivels the screen towards them and clicks the remote control.

The woman mimics the 9th Doctor's somber tone and touches her forehead, "I'd know; in here."

She shakes her head in disbelief. "Help me understand this, Doctor. You find yourself unable to sense other members of your species, so there are two possibilities." She starts to pace about the room like she owns the place. "Option one: every other Gallifreyan in the universe has ceased to exist, OR option two: your sensor is shot."

It begins to dawn on the Doctor exactly what she was saying. She continues, "And you, you arrogant ass, you choose to believe the first. You'd rather think that all Time Lords have been wiped out than consider you have a rebirth defect. You, who spent an entire regeneration cycle in a human morgue instead of a proper TT capsule... you who interrupted a regeneration cycle and stored the energy in a severed hand..." She takes a deep breath to control herself. "Yeah, there's no way your buzzer's busted!" she says sarcastically. She rolls her eyes. "Please..."

Ethel, useful at pointing out the obvious, "So, there are other Time Lords."

The Doctor falls into a chair, dumbfounded. "All this time..."

Clara rests her hand on his shoulder.

Ethel gets an idea. She says, "Doctor! We could go looking for them."

"Oh, where? Not like the Tardis knows where to look," the Doctor continues to let the news of his rebirth defect sink in.

Ethel persists, "It knows where not to look. We're just gonna have to go to places we've never been before."

"Why do I smell popcorn?" Clara asks.

The Doctor looks up. His mind is racing with something new. "Where did she go?"

Ethel and Clara shrug. The woman has left the Tardis.

The Doctor leaps up from his seat. He returns the Matrix screen back to its proper position. "How did that woman say she got in?"

"She had a key," says Ethel.

The Doctor checks for his sonic screwdriver and heads towards the door quickly.

"We need to follow her," announced the Doctor. "We need to find out what she's doing in this rainforest."

Ethel prefers her idea of going on a new adventure. "What do you care why one random Time Lady chose to live in the Amazon?"

The Doctor looks at Ethel with a very serious expression on his face, "Oh, she's no random Time Lady. There is only one woman who would still own a Type 40 Tardis."

Clara and Ethel asked together, "Who?"

The Doctor sneers, "The Rani."

"The Rani? Who is she?" asks Ethel.

The Doctor is feverishly looking for something in a storage closet of the Tardis. He answers Ethel's question, "Back on Gallifrey she was a talented bio-chemist." He tosses an unidentifiable piece of junk over his shoulder. "After one of her creatures got loose and tried to kill the President, they banished her from Gallifrey." More stuff is tossed aside. "Of course she wasn't in the Time War! I've been thinking about this all wrong! This changes everything! There must be a half-dozen banished Time Lords floating about this universe, not even knowing the Time War was going on until too late. And refugeees! Every war has refugeees... Little Wanderers of the Galaxy, settling down, marrying other humanoids, having little half-Gallifreyans..." the Doctor became lost in his musings. In his arms he cradles a strange hunk of technology.

Clara points to the bizarre object. "Is that what you were looking for?"

The Doctor shakes himself back to the task at hand. "Yes! My Visual Recognition System." The Doctor elaborates, "The Rani's Tardis still has a working chameleon circuit. This will help us find her. Smashed visual receiver, so it won't work perfect, but it'll be able to tell a regular tree from a disguised spacecraft."

With gusto, the Doctor exits the Tardis. Ethel and Clara follow.


	13. The Undying: part 3

"And why are we looking for her specifically?" Clara inquires. "Don't you think it is more important that you find the rest of the Gallifreyans? Think of it! You could reunite with friends and relatives!"

The Doctor is stepping quickly but lightly, aiming the device at different large objects.

"Wait... it _she_ a relative?"

"No," replies the Doctor.

Clara presses, "Friend? _Girlfriend_?"

"Oh! As if!"

"So... what it is then?" pipes in Ethel.

The Doctor answers without stopping his search for Rani's disguised spacecraft. "The Rani's experiments have always ranged from the suspiciously amoral to the downright evil. She's in the Amazon for a reason; and it probably isn't a good one."

"I thought she said she was perfecting frog poison."

Clara slaps a tube of the anti-poison lotion into Ethel's hand.

"The frogs are side project to pass the time." the Doctor says firmly. "She would never think so small as amping amphibian toxicity. No, the real project is something much bigger."

The machine indicates that a large tree is the Rani's Tardis.

Clara guesses what the beeping noise means. "Well, that's lucky! We parked right next to her."

The Doctor, eager to enter, shoves the VRS into Clara's arms. "Maybe it isn't luck," says the Doctor. "I think that Tardis stopped here on purpose. Maybe she senses more than I give her credit for."

"How do we get in?" asks Ethel.

The Doctor reaches into his pocket. "Same way she got in mine."

The Doctor slides his own key into a mossy patch. Nothing happens. He is bothered that his moment to look clever is ruined. He tries a few more mossy patches and blossoms around the tree. Finally he finds the right one. A door slides open in the tree. The Doctor enters confidently. Clara and Ethel follow with caution.

They enter a control room much like the Doctor's, but with a definite Rani twist. It is soft green, like a hospital ward, with tall triangular panes, instead of the round windows.

Ethel remarks, "Well, it's bigger on the inside, like yours."

Clara, in as much awe as he was when he first entered the Doctor's Tardis, says, "Oh, this looks nothing like the Doctor's Tardis."

Doctor strolls out a doorway and into a corridor, looking for something that may hint at what the Rani is up to. He spends little time looking about the control room. Ethel and Clara follow, not wanting to get left behind or lost.

The Doctor is musing to himself, "The Tardis changes with its Time Lord."

The Doctor opens doors and glances inside.

The Doctor, again taking up the role of unrequested tour guide, began talking to his companions. "It was said you could tell everything about a Time Lady just by looking in the first five rooms off the TT control center." He opens a door. There is a luxurious, King Louis type bedroom. "I wonder what Romana's capsule would have looked like..."

Clara opens a different door to look inside.

Ethel follows the Doctor, continuing the conversation. "Romana?"

"A Gallifreyan I knew years ago. Traveled with my fourth self. Left me to work with some leonines in E-space..."

"Can the same be said about a Time Lord?"

"The five rooms rule? Doubt it. I used to have a cloister bell."

Doctor opens a door and seems to have found what he was looking for – Rani's laboratory.

The Rani is not in her laboratory. The Doctor looks around impressed, yet concerned. "Oh, I've always wanted one of those... but what is she using it for?"

Ethel sees the glass cages of large, odd looking, yet beautiful birds. "Oh! Doctor! Look!"

The Doctor trots over to the cages. "I told you she wasn't just improving frogs! Look she's created an entirely new species of bird."

"How can you tell it was created by her? The rainforest is home to so many creatures, scientists haven't even discovered them all. That's what the book said."

"And that is precisely why the Rani would choose such a place. She can create dozens of new a bizarre creatures and no one would even notice! Just chalk it up to the wondrous biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest."

"Fine, but creating animals hardly seems evil..." Ethel isn't keen to start hating a person who has saved her life.

"Oh, there's got to be more to this than meets the eye," the Doctor says.

As the Doctor and Ethel chat and explore, Rani enters. She drags behind her Clara, who has dart of tranquilizer her neck. She speaks half to her captive, half to herself. She is wondering, and guessing, where Clara's companions are. She carefully rolls her onto a low platform. She lies face down. Stepping on a pedal, the platform rises to surgery-table height. Rani turns around to find the Doctor and Ethel.

The Rani greets them, "Oh, speak of the devil. Here you are."

"What have you done to Clara?" the Doctor demands to know.

"Nothing. I've hit him with a mild tranquilizer. See for yourself."

The Doctor and Ethel rush to Clara's side. He checks her breathing as Ethel cautiously pokes her. They are both is concerned, but neither one really has any medical knowledge, so they isn't sure what to look for.

Ethel can say nothing except, "Her left shoe is missing!"

The Doctor is not troubled by Clara's missing footwear. He begins a friendly chat with the Rani. "I see you're no longer collecting dinosaurs. Birds now?"

The Rani is pleased to have someone to brag to. "Oh, I didn't just collect these birds," she says. "They are genetically and bio-chemically enhanced."

"Are they now?" the Doctor says, trying to hide his distrust and disgust for this Time Lady.

"You wanna see?"

"I'm not sure I do," the Doctor answers. Then, after a brief pause, "Yes."

The Rani taps the front of the glass cage to make sure the bird is awake. The bird flutters and shifts it's weight, unconcerned about its fate. The Rani then pushes two buttons on the front of the cage, and throws a lever on the wall. The cage lights up as the bird is zapped with electric current. Both Ethel and the Doctor recoil in disgust.

The bird's carcass lies at the bottom of the cage. Then a soft glow emits from its body. It shifts form slightly different plumage, eyes, beak – same species, but clearly not the same bird. The Doctor is amazed. Ethel, who is still at Clara's side, is stunned. The Doctor eagerly wants to know how the Rani could have made such a breakthrough.

"As you can see," says the Rani proudly, "The bird can regenerate."

The Doctor cannot contain how impressed he is. "That is astounding. How did you – It isn't possible to – it must have taken a life-time to – The genetic manipulation necessary is just mind-boggling!"

"Yes, it is. Unfortunately, too mind-boggling even for me," the Rani sighed.

"But, we just witnessed regeneration!"

"True, but not a natural regeneration," the Rani says. "It's chemically induced."

Ethel is doubtful. "What? You mean there's a pill you can pop and you're like … death-proof?"

"An injection, not a pill; but otherwise, yes," responds the Rani. She further explains, "Each injection allows the receiver double the lives it would otherwise live. Give this bird one dose, it lives two lives, a second dose, four, a third dose, eight... For a Time Lord on his eleventh life... I'm sure you're thinking how nice it would be to have 15 more lives rather than just two."

"How do you make it?" asks the Doctor.

"Make what?" asks the Rani.

"The injection. What is it you are injecting?"

The Rani responds with, "Follow me."

Doctor gets up, gestures Ethel to follow. Ethel shakes her head.

"Don't worry about the young woman," the Rani says calmly. "She'll be out for a while."

Ethel hesitantly leaves Clara's side.

The Doctor and Ethel follow the Rani to another room. It is a terrarium with small pools and places for growing crystals and corral. The Rani puts on goggles and gloves. She indicates that the Doctor and Ethel should either do the same or stand back. She goes over to a pool and harvests a clump of crystals and a chunk of corral. Then she places each in a mortar. With passionate precision, she uses a pestle to grind each into powder.

The Doctor scoffs, "Don't tell me you're grinding up Cadon crystals and TT corral."

"What's that stuff?" asks Ethel.

As the Doctor speaks, the Rani is measuring and mixing the powders with a clear liquid. The Doctor explains, "Crystal and coral are the organic parts of every Tardis. Ancient Gallifreyan physicians tried to grind these up in an effort to increase the number of regenerations."

"Did it work?"

"No. Gave you a wicked high, though. And, if you did it too often, you would regenerate addicted to the stuff. Never tried it, myself..."

The Rani is now holding a small, furry creature from the rainforest an is prepped to inject it.

She speaks, "And, if you give too much to creatures that lack regenerative abilities …"

The Doctor protests, "Oh, please don't..."

It's too late, Rani injects the squirming creature. It glows a brilliant array of colors, then freezes in an albino form.

Ethel is almost afraid to ask, "Is it … dead?"

"Yes," answers the Doctor.

"Death from an overdose of life!" the Rani proclaims.

Her eyes take on a wild joy. The Rani begins walking excitedly back to the laboratory. She talks as she walks. The Doctor follows listening intently. Ethel just follows.

"When I learned about it in school, I couldn't believe it. It puzzled me for years. Then I figured it out. It's why we need two hearts. It is why we only have 13 lives. The organ wears out. Our first life we only have one heart, then, at death, the hormones kick in and cause the growth of the second heart.

The second heart isn't just for pumping blood around! It is pumping the extra life. For a brief moment there are two complete beings in one space and time."

The Doctor chimes in, trying to appear equally intelligent. "It's part of quantum physics. Any particle can be in more than one place at one time."

"The converse isn't true," the Rani states quickly. "Two particles can't be in the exact same place at the exact same time."

"But in regeneration, the molecules are changing – rearranging. There aren't two complete beings, in the same place and time." The Doctor feels the Rani isn't making any sense.

"Doctor, I'm surprised at you. It isn't just the body that changes." The Rani looks to Ethel, who had only months before witnessed her mother's regeneration. "Each regeneration comes with a new personality, a new set of tastes, a -"

The Doctor interrupts to prove his own understanding, "A new soul."

The Rani is ruffled by such an unscientific term. "Fine, if you want to get theological about it." She continues her explanation, "Yet, all the memories of the past remain. I didn't say there were two complete bodies I said there would be two complete _beings_. The second heart allows you to, in a sense, shift out of the way when the new "soul" is forming." She held up the furry white statue. "This little creature isn't dead. It is simply waiting for the new being to take up its position. Now, are you ready for the cool part?"

The Rani drops the fuzzy, frozen creature into the mouth of a large tube at the top of a machine. Ethel feels the need to sit down. It is all too much for her. The machine makes a horrible whirring noise, followed by an odd, percolating sound. Out of a thin tube at the other end of the machine, drips a deep pink liquid into a vial.

The Doctor is slightly horrified. "What... is... that?"

The Rani removes her gloves. "The machine is my Liquefier and Life Extractor. And this," she picks up the vial, "is the perfect mix of hormones and chemical triggers. Or it will be after I allow it to sit a while."

Rani places the vial in a cooling cabinet with a glass front door. She places the vial in and takes a different vial out. It is filled with a pink liquid of a richer tone.

"This one's ready. I call it Aliavix." She sees she has a captive audience. "It remains dormant in the body until one begins to die. At that time, the natural surge of adrenalin and other chemical compounds will set off a chain reaction with the Aliavix injection. The second heart will form - or repair as the case may be, making a regeneration possible."

The Rani moves back towards the other end of the laboratory. As the Doctor questions and she answers, the Rani puts on a lab coat, new gloves, and fills a syringe with the pink liquid.

The Doctor, wanting to catch the Rani in some misdeed, presses her for more information. "So, you're just zapping beautiful exotic birds to death and seeing if they spring back to life?"

"Of course not," exclaims the Gallifreyan scientist. "I was at first, but a real scientist needs to get results from the field. I tag my subjects and release them back into the wild. I let them die of natural causes." She glares at the Doctor and his doubting looks. "My science is solid," she insists. "I have used two regenerations watching various creatures experience what this pink liquid can do. Fortunately my fifth self was more mechanically inclined. It was a great day when I completed the LLE machine. And today will be even more grand."

"How so?" asks the Doctor.

The Rani smiled. The Doctor and Ethel have not noticed that she is standing by the surgical platform. The Rani answers the Doctor's question, "I can inject my first human."

She turns around, pulls up Clara's shirt and injects the liquid into her back. She awakens, shouting in pain.


	14. The Undying: part 4

Clara breathes hard, trying to take her mind off the pain. "What... what the heck was that?"

The Rani answers, "Aliavix. Serum for a second life."

Clara, quickly recovering from being anesthetized, inspects herself. She finds an odd plastic and metal chip where her toe-nail should be. "What's this thing on my toe?"

The Rani speaks soothingly. "A simple tracking device. I want to record the results of this trial. I keep records of all the creatures I inject."

The Doctor is furious. "Uninject her! She gave no consent to being a victim of your -"

"I prefer the term trial participant – and I can't uninject her."

"An antidote then."

The Rani raises an eyebrow. "The antidote to life? Surely you're not asking me to kill her on the spot."

Clara shouts, "I don't want to die!"

"And with the injection I just gave you, you won't," says the Rani. "You'll regenerate. All your hopes, dreams, and memories will be held in a transitive state whilst a new body and soul form around your lifeless corpse."

Ethel sides with the Doctor. "But, you can't be sure. You said Clara was the first human you've tried it on. Something could go wrong."

"I have every confidence in this current formula. I have reached a success rate of 82 percent."

Clara, trying to be optimistic, says, "Well that's encouraging."

The Doctor says, "That's an 18 percent chance of failure. An 18 percent chance that weird pink gunk just kills you."

Rani speaks firmly, "No one and no thing has ever died from an Aliavix injection."

The Doctor tilts his head in thought. "Then how are you defining this 18 percent failure, Rani?"

The Rani spreads her hands, trying to think of a way to placate the Doctor. "Well, there isn't a truly scientific term for it..."

"Then tell us the unscientific term for it," Ethel demands.

The Rani mumbles, "Zombie."

"ZOMBIE!" Clara is returning to a state of panic. "I'm turning into a zombie? How long do I have?"

"You're not turning into a zombie now," says the Time Lady. "At the time of death most likely you'll regenerate, you'll be a brand-new human with all the knowledge and experience that the old you gained in this life-time."

The Doctor steps forward. "Don't try to gloss over the fact that she has an 18 percent chance she becomes one of the undead."

"Will I be all stiff legged and craving human flesh forever?" Clara inquires.

"Don't be ridiculous," scoffs the Rani. "Just because you don't die doesn't mean the body won't start decomposing. You'll eventually rot away. How long you have is based purely on environmental factors."

The Doctor wants to speak with the mad scientist alone.

"Ethel, help Clara back to the Tardis," he orders.

Ethel asks, "Are we going to find a suitably dry place to slow down Clara's rotting?"

"If we need to."

"Quite talking as if I'm a zombie already," says Clara. "I've gotta actually die first."

"Keep traveling with the Doctor and it will happen soon enough. Go on, I release my latest specimen back into the wild."

Ethel scowls at the Rani. "Come on, Clara."

Clara and Ethel exit the laboratory. The Doctor watches them go.

The Rani tries to offer comfort to the Doctor. "Really, you shouldn't be so worried. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Yeah, yeah. 82 percent chance."

"Actually, it is even higher for large mammals. Between 85 and 90."

"What larger mammals?"

The Rani is eager to impress the Doctor. She has no idea how unethical and amoral he thinks she is. She acts so superior to everyone... but then again, he himself was never known for modesty. She is more cute, and much less cold than her former self, the Doctor couldn't deny that. However, perhaps it is precisely that which makes her extra creepy.

The Rani calls out in a clear voice, "Tracker System..."

A computerized voice responds, "Yes, Mistress?"

The Rani grinned at the Doctor. "I just love a machine that responds to audio-input. Old boyfriend made this for me using parts from a junked K-9!"

The Doctor is not interested. "The larger mammals?"

The Rani speaks in a measured and clear voice, "Tracker System, please allow video display for 233, 234, 235, 237, 239, 231 alpha and 236 alpha."

Images appear on the seven screens. Each a large jungle cat.

The Rani glances over at the Doctor. "Please don't look so troubled by the numbers. It's a classification system. I didn't start at one."

The Doctor gazes at each screen. "So, each of these felines has successfully regenerated."

"Yes."

"And the ones that … zombied?"

Rani shrugged. "In this heat and moisture? The first fell apart in less than a month."

"Are there others?"

The Gallifreyan scientist speaks to her computer. "Tracker System, change display. Show 232 and 238."

Video changes display. There appears to be a two large, zombie cats prowling. As a team, the two creatures work together to trap and take down a wild pig. The wild pig has a plastic chip clearly imbedded in its front hoof. It gives a little squeal as it is attacked.

The voice reported, "437 is now experiencing regeneration."

The Rani looks up with concern. "Display vital stats."

She watches another screen. Numbers go up and down. Various lines and waves, much like a monitor at a hospital. Clearly, the wild pig, another one of her injected specimens, is dying.

The Doctor looks over her shoulder at the numbers, and back to the viewing screen at the wild cats and the helpless pig. Not enjoying the violence, he returns his view to the pigs dropping vital signs. He says, "Not even Time Lords can regenerate if half their flesh is in some other creature's stomach."

"Don't worry," says the Rani. "They'll run-off once the pig starts glowing. The won't eat much of him."

Rani and Doctor watch as the zombie cats pause as the pig's flesh begins glowing.

The system announces, "First period of regeneration successful."

The zombie cats begin to feed eagerly. Yet, as they do, a zombie bird tries to join the feeding. The Doctor watches this. The Rani is fixated on the other screen. The numbers go down.

"Blast it!" she says.

The system reports, "Second period of regeneration unsuccessful. 437 dead. Do you want the print-out?"

The Rani responds, "Yes, Tracking System." The data prints out quickly from a slot in the wall. The Rani moves quickly to it, tears off the print-out and scans the data. "Stupid zombies ate the pig before he could zombie or regenerate. It's not viable data at all."

The Doctor ponders what he has just witnessed. "I thought you said they would run away once it started glowing."

The Rani snaps, "Well, I'm allowed to make mistakes."

"Seems to me they were waiting for it to start glowing."

The Rani gets a funny look on her face. In a slightly rushed tone, she says, "Tracking System, repeat most recent transmission."

The system does so. Rani watches the zombie cats. They indeed seem to wait for the flesh to glow, as does the bird that watches from afar before joining the meal.

"This is an incredible result!" she skips in excitement. "Why didn't I think of it before?"

"What?" queried the Doctor. "That zombies don't get scared? That they crave living flesh above all else?"

The Rani shakes her head. "Not just any living flesh! Regenerating flesh! See, they waited until the shift began. They somehow sensed that their prey could regenerate."

"Then why wasn't I attacked when I was exploring?"

"You must not have been in a zombie area. I have noticed that zombies don't move all that quickly. I think it comes from the onset of rigor mortis. Oh, I do hope they don't attack your little friends. He's no good to me if he is devoured before he can provide viable data."

"Oh, their probably back in the Tardis by now. We parked practically next-door."

The Rani looks puzzled. "Next door to which door?"

The Doctor blinks and then realizes. "Your Tardis has more than one exit?"

"Of course, doesn't yours?"

The Doctor shouts out, "Tracker System, show Clara."

Nothing happens.

The Rani says, "Tracker System, video display 653."

Clara appears on the monitors. Ethel walking with her. They appear very lost and very confused. Clara wishes she still had her shoe.


	15. The Undying: part 5

Clara is complaining, "Stupid Rani. She could have at least given me my shoe back before sending me out here."

"The Doctor has plenty of shoes in his costume room. We'll find you something nice," Ethel says consolingly.

"Just make them good for running. Traveling with the Doctor involves a lot of running."

They trudge on in silence, looking all around them.

Ethel complains, "I don't remember the walk being nearly this long."

"Neither do I," admits Clara. "I could have sworn the Tardis was just over there. It's a bit hard to see anything, the trees are so dense."

"Perhaps we walked past it," Ethel suggests.

"I don't think I am about to accidentally walk past a giant blue police box. He must have moved it."

"How would he have moved it? I was with him the whole time!"

"He's a Time Lord! He can do anything."

"Well, he's not going to re-park the Tardis just for kicks."

Clara steps in something lumpy and squishy. "Oh, goodness... what did I just step on?"

"Dirt," replies Ethel.

"I've been stepping on dirt for several minutes. I know what dirt feels like. I did not just step on dirt." Clara takes a deep breath and looks at what is beneath her foot. It is a couple of rotting fingers.

They hear a sound, turning slowly, they see a large zombie chimp swinging towards them. Bits and pieces of his arm have rotted off, maggots crawl on him.

Ethel and Clara decide running away is the best idea. As they run, zombie birds join in the chase, all in various states of decay. Then zombie lemurs and lizards come crawling out of the trees. The creatures move in a stiff fashion, but quickly enough to be scary. As Clara and Ethel flee, their path becomes blocked by more zombie animals joining the pursuit. The become "cornered" their backs up against a big tree, a variety of zombie animals walking and creeping stiffly closer and closer. A door in the tree swings in and Clara and Ethel fall backwards into Rani's Tardis.

Ethel and Clara find themselves on the floor of a small kitchen with a Dutch door. The moans of the exotic zombie animals on the other side of the door are muffled.

The Doctor exclaims to Rani, "Goodness! How many exterior doors do you have?"

"I'm surprised you only have one," she says. "Tsk... tsk... you went cheap, didn't get any of the extras. Bet you didn't get the extended warranty either."

"I did!" the Doctor says indignantly.

"And just when were you going to bother to get the chameleon circuit fixed?"

Ethel interrupts in exasperation, "Excuse me! Clara and I were just chased by a horde of Amazon zombies!"

"A horde?" The Doctor opens the top of the door to look.

Several rotting creatures lunge at him. The Doctor stumbles back, a small zombie lemur scratching at his face. Ethel and Clara grab cooking utensils and beat back the other creatures trying to get through the opening. The Doctor is able thrust the creature off him and back out the window. Ethel slams the door shut.

"My God!" The Doctor looks to the Rani, "Are you sure the success rate is 82 percent?"

"Positive," she answers.

"How many animals have you tested? There was a literal horde out there."

Ethel gave a little gasp. "Doctor, you're bleeding."

"He's been bitten by a zombie!" Clara leaps up.

The Doctor does not see a reason for Clara's concern. "So?"

"Everyone knows what happens when you're bitten by a zombie!"

The Doctor gives a small smile. "Oh, but not these zombies, right, Rani?"

The Rani becomes very serious. "Come with me," she says. "There is an antidote for zombie bites if it is administered in time."

They move quickly to the lab. The Doctor more interested in calculating the number of animals she has tested on.

The Doctor chats with himself as the others escort/drag him to the Rani's lab. "What were there, like 12 zombie animals? Plus the two big cats we saw earlier. So that represents the 18 percent failure rate, but then a zombie doesn't last more than a few months in such a humid and buggy climate ..."

The Doctor is ordered to sit on the table Clara was on earlier. The Rani, wearing gloves, applies a blue syrup to the Doctor's wounds with a cotton swab.

The Doctor reaches his conclusion. "Rani! You must have experimented on thousands of defenseless creatures over the decades."

"I wouldn't call a large jungle cat defenseless," points out Ethel.

The Rani is all business. "He'll want to be under sedation for the next part of the treatment."

"Are you sure?" asks Clara.

"I've been bitten by these beasts before. Trust me, he will want to be under sedation for the next part of the treatment."

The Doctor feels his point of the Rani's evilness is not getting across. "These animals are in danger of extinction."

"By the loss of habitat and food supply due to deforestation! Not because of my experiments."

"I'll put a stop to this! This is horribly wrong."

The Rani sticks the Doctor with a tranquilizer. He continues to rant. "This goes against the Shadow Proclamation; this goes against basic Earth laws. This is a complete -"

The Doctor drops off to sleep. Ethel and Clara reposition him so he is lying on his back.

"Finally!" the Rani exclaims. "It is no fun to save someone's life when he is telling you how evil you are."

The Rani continues to work while she speaks with Ethel and Clara. Without them questioning her actions, or even really noticing, the Rani removes the Doctor's shoe and sock tags the Doctor's toe.

Ethel looks worried. "But the Doctor, he's going to be okay, right?"

The Rani smiles reassuringly. "Of course. Like I've said, I've used the zombie bite treatment on myself."

She then removes a pink liquid from the cooling cabinet, fills a syringe, and injects the Doctor with the Aliavix.

As the Rani completes her work, and Clara tries to clean her foot and find her shoe, Ethel tries to strike up a conversation with the Time Lady.

Ethel begins, "I just can't believe the Doctor was so wrong about there being other Time Lords."

"Well, there aren't many of us," admits the Rani. "Plus, not all Gallifreyans have Time Traveling Capsules. And, unlike him, those of us with a TTC try to stay under the radar."

"What do you mean?" asks Clara.

The Rani imitates the sound of the Tardis landing, "Wheeeerrrr, wheeeerrr, big blue box. Tell me, have you gone anywhere where you spend more than ten minutes unnoticed?"

Clara quickly answers, "No."

"The Doctor likes the blue box," Ethel says mater-of-factly.

The Rani smirks. "Yes, it suits him. A self-proclaimed policeman of the universe, defending the human race against everyone except themselves, and defending no one else."

Doctor wakes up quickly. He starts shouting as if the tranquilizer had never happened. "I will call UNIT. I will call Torchwood. I will call anyone with the power to stop you and put you away for good. I've said it in the past, you didn't need banishment, you needed a padded cell. You .. you... you injected me!"

Clara tries to calm the Doctor. "She was mending your wounds. A zombie bite vaccination."

The Doctor hops off the surgical table. "No. Rani, you injected me. That's Aliavix in the syringe, isn't it?"

"You should be thanking me, Doctor," cooed the Rani. "In you now are the biological chemicals capable of repairing any re-birth defects that your previous regenerations may have sustained. If you die in your own Tardis, and stay there for the full regeneration, all eight of your senses will be completely restored. You will no longer have that gnawing feeling of being alone."

The Doctor scoffs. "I would rather die after only eleven lives than know I lived a single extra day because of such inhumane practices as yours. I will call UNIT. I will call Torchwood. You will be stopped. You will be locked away in Stormcage -"

She interrupted him. "They can't lock me away if they can't find me." She takes on her air of superiority once again. "They come, I move, easy. I'm not so arrogant as to leave a calling card like the Master; I'm not so stupid as to never get my chameleon circuit adjusted. So, run to Torchwood; notify UNIT. See if I care."

The Doctor has nothing more to say to her. "Come on, Ethel, Clara."

The Doctor exits the room with Ethel and Clara following.

He walks down the hallway leading to the proper door, which is in the control room.

"So, that's it, then?" demands Clara. "We're giving up?"

"No, we're still going to contact the proper authorities."

Clara can't believe it. "But you heard her. She can just pick up and move anywhere, be anything. She could be a castle, an ice-cream truck, a -"

"Whatever she wants!" pipes Ethel.

The Doctor exclaims, "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"What if she couldn't be whatever she wants?"

Ethel tries to understand. "What do you mean?"

"I can't fix a chameleon circuit. No one still living can."

Clara nods in understanding. "But you can break one."

Ethel sees the Doctor's plan. "You can get the Rani's Tardis stuck like yours is stuck."

"Yes! Not always the exact same box, but always a _blue police_ _box_. The controls will be in this room."

The Doctor enters the control room. Clara and Ethel follow.

"How do you know where to look?" asks Clara. "Her Tardis is nothing like yours."

"Actually," the Doctor informs Clara, "It is exactly like mine, a Type 40. Well, at least the control room is. Just a different desk-top theme. See, we can go from asylum green to..."

The room changes to look dangerously close to a Star Trek set.

"Or, to avoid copyright infringement, this..."

The room changes to look like the old set of Dr. Who, white with dozens of round windows.

The Doctor slides over to another set of buttons and levers. "And by reversing the the polarity of the neutron flow..." he flips a few switches, "We can change the outside to look like this …"

With some shifting and wriggling, the three large trees and the ground connecting them stretches and contracts into a hazy, blob of colors.

The Doctor glances at a monitor to view the results of his button pushing. "There, she'll have a hard time looking inconspicuous now. Shall we?"

The time-traveling capsule's door is opened to a familiar part of the forest. They can see the blue police box not too far off. The three exit through the door, not looking back.

Ethel, Clara, and the Doctor make their way to their own Tardis, leaving behind them a garish Viking ship.

As the Doctor powers up the Tardis to leave, Clara talks to him. "And what about the zombie animals?"

The Doctor answers in an unconcerned manor, "I suppose they'll just rot away. Mother nature will have to take care of that mess."

Ethel asks, "Are you thinking about it, Doctor?"

"About what?"

"About what the Rani said; you could regenerate now and sense the other Time Lords."

The Doctor sighed. "I've lived alone for so long. I'm not sure what I'd be gaining is worth the risk. I mean, now that I know I'm not alone, how is feeling not alone a vast improvement?"

Clara thinks it is obvious. "Once you can sense Time Lords, so can the Tardis. The search for your fellows would be a snap."

"On the other hand," the Doctor points out, "The regeneration could fail, I could turn into a zombie and have the overwhelming desire to kill and devour you.

Clara concedes, "You put off trying to regenerate as long as you like, Doctor."

"So, then, where to now, Doctor?"

The Doctor grins and starts turning dials. "Some place we've never been before. We have to find those other Time Lords some way."

**End of Episode Three**

_Please note: The following are my own ideas and are not official cannon._

_1) Aliavix, how it is made and all that it does._

_2) The explanation for a Time Lord's second heart. _

_(It is cannon however that the first doctor and Susan only had one heart. Still, I wouldn't put it past the current show writers to ignore that point)_

_The next episode is The Space Between. It uses characters and settings from the episode Warrior's Gate._


	16. The Space Between: part 1

FOURTH EPISODE

**THE SPACE BETWEEN**

When we last saw Sven and Susan they were seeking out other Time Lords that had managed to escape the demise of Gallifrey. The Mod-Hopper is small and lacking in luxury. Sven has created a make-shift hammock and Susan has created a bed from blankets and lumpy clothes.

"Why hasn't the scanner found anything yet?" Susan asks, not sure if she really wants to hear the answer.

Sven shrugs. He is not a talkative man.

"I think I hurt River's feelings when I said she wasn't a real Time Lady," murmurs Susan.

"You probably did," says Sven.

"You really think her stories about my grandfather are true?"

Sven thinks about it, "Well, the going in separate directions, every time she sees him she knows him more and he knows her less…"

Susan smiles to herself. "After 300 years on Earth, I can tell you that happens in a relationship whether time travel is involved or not."

A whistling sound like a tea-kettle is heard.

Susan rolls out of her lumpy bed and jumps to her feet. "Let's go meet some real Gallifreyans!"

**[==+}**

Sven takes the portable part of the scanning device. They open the door and walk onto a grassy plateu.

They stay close to their time-traveling vehicle. It can only be seen to the discerning eye, it has taken on a rocky appearance to blend in with the rocky terrain. "Where are we?" Susan asks her companion.

"According to the scanner, this is a place called Planet of Xoanon. It was visited by the Doctor in his 4th body. There isn't any more information about it in the Matrix."

Susan bites her lip for a moment, then says, "If the Time War is in a Time-Lock, and the entire planet is doomed to explode, how can you still be getting readings from the Matrix?"

Sven shrugs. "I guess the Matrix was saved just like some of the Gallifreyans were saved."

"I think our mission is being guided by something more than the Hopper's scanner."

"Well," grunts Sven as he crouches down in the tall grass, "You wanted to find real Gallifreyans. Take a look over there."

Susan kneels down in the tall grass next to Sven and looks to where he is pointing. Together they observe a ceremony taking place before the mouth of a cave. The mouth of the cave glows green. They are close enough to the action to see the tears of pride in the adults' faces, yet they go unnoticed. All attention is being paid to a man in a headdress. Five young people now stand before their tribe. They wear an odd blend of shiny fabric and tribal armor. The Shaman is standing as well, shaking each one of their hands and bestowing around each neck a long, striped scarf. Then they line up shoulder to shoulder.

"It looks like some sort of departure ceremony," says Sven.

"They look so young," comments Susan.

"They are Gallifreyan. They can look as young as they choose."

Susan disagrees, "There is something in their eyes. A lack of experience, a lack of loss. They can't be more than a hundred years old."

The Shaman is giving his final speech to the gathered crowd. "We were called by the Hand Maiden Leela to fight in a far away land. We owe the Great Healer a debt, and these brave ones go to repay it. May you have the courage and blessings of Xoanon as you go to fight the demon Dal-Ex!"

The five young people all bow in unison. Then they turn and enter the cave, one hand upon another's shoulder. The green glow swallows them up.

"Did you hear that?" Sven whispers.

"It sounded like he said they would be fighting Daleks," Susan whispers back.

"I don't think that's just a cave. I think it is a Time Tunnel."

"That leads where?" asks Susan. "Some future battle field?"

"If they are fighting Daleks, he may be talking about the Time War. They may be going to a battle field _outside_ of regular time and space."

"You told me the war is in a Time Lock…"

"True, but perhaps we have found a back door."

"But… but they are so young! They wouldn't regenerate if they died. We should stop them, warn them!" Susan springs from their hiding place and charges towards the glowing cave.

"Susan, stop!" calls Sven, chasing after her.

He grabs hold of her arm just as they both cross the unseen threshold of the luminous tunnel.

Upon entering, Sven states, "Hey, stop! This is no ordinary cave."

"Yeah, the glow tipped me off," says Susan. She tries to walk forward, twisting against Sven's grip.

He tries to explain, "No, this… this is a Time Tunnel. Before I was assigned to be a Sweeper, I overheard some lab guys talking about it. It is a bit like a telescope, a minute on one end is like months at the other, a step could take us millions of miles. Don't let go of my hand."

Susan sighs. "So, there isn't really a chance of catching up to those kids."

"That isn't a reason not to go exploring," says Sven, trying to cheer her up.

Susan gives him a small smile and they start to travel down the tunnel. As they go, what is first low lying mist becomes denser and denser fog.

"I can't see the walls of the tunnel anymore, can you?" says Susan.

Sven shakes his head. "No, but look down that way." He points towards a red glow in the distance. "Perhaps that's a way out. You know, like an emergency exit."

Susan nods and they begin to walk towards the red glow. As they walk, Susan ponders aloud, "We're in a Time Tunnel. Where would an emergency exit lead?"

*{+==]***


	17. Space Between: part 2

The Doctor looks eagerly at the various blinking lights on the console. "The TARDIS has picked up something interesting on the short-range scanner," he announces to the crew of Ethel and Clara. "She's decided to land."

"Doctor," asks Ethel hesitantly, "Why are all the read-outs saying zero?"

"Zero?" the Doctor frowns. "I wanted to go someplace we've never been before. I've been here. This is the Null-space."

"Null-space?" queries Clara.

"It's a sort of transition between N-Space and E-Space. You and Ethel live in N-Space."

"So, what's E-Space? Like some sort of parallel universe?" asks Clara.

"It'd be more accurate to call it a perpendicular universe," replies the Doctor.

"And you've been here before?" asks Ethel.

"Yep, and it was blasted difficult to leave," the Doctor states as he opens up the view screen. "Now, why have we stopped here a second ti - Ooh, a Mod-Hopper!" exclaims the Doctor. An image appears on the viewing screen, a picture of what is outside. It is a large white cylinder settled on a flat, stony ground.

"It's Gallifreyan technology!" says the Doctor, excited and intrigued at the same time.

"A Mod-Hopper?" repeats Clara, seeking further explanation.

The Doctor obliges. "Basically it's a big scanner attached to vessel that can take a single-dimensional hops."

"Single-dimensional?"

"Yes. It can hop through time or space, but not both at once. The scanner takes up most of the energy. Once the scanner finds what it is looking for, then it hops to the closest, well relatively closest, time-space location it can." The Doctor made a graceful leap to the door. "Let's check it out."

The three of them leave the TARDIS and look around at the landscape. It is featureless, or seems so; the white mist makes it difficult to see very far.

"So, what was it scanning for here? This place looks barren," says Ethel.

"Didn't you hear him?" asks Clara of Ethel. "The hopper gets as close as it can. Whatever it was scanning for could be miles -"

"Or years," interjects the Doctor as he is breaking into the spacecraft.

"Or years away." Clara turns and follows the Doctor into the Mod-Hopper.

Ethel follows Clara and bumps into her, as she has stopped short in surprise. Clara gasps, "It's the same size on the inside!"

Ethel mumbles, "That shouldn't be surprising."

Clara moves to the Doctor who is peering about the ship for clues. "I thought you said this was Gallifreyan technology. Why isn't it bigger on the inside?"

"It is as big as it needs to be. Cheap little machine that got you where you needed to go, no extra luxuries, better for the environment. Like a bike."

Ethel tilts his head as he reads a monitor. "Look at this Doctor. It says, location zero kilometers, time ten minutes."

"Ah," the Doctor says. "So, we are zero kilometers and ten minutes away from whatever this rig was scanning for."

"What was it scanning for?" asks Clara.

"Thrills," Ethel answers, reading a different screen.

"Can you even scan for that?" asks Clara.

"Well, whomever what piloting this Hopper certainly thought you could," says the Doctor.

"Who was it? Where is he now?" asks Clara excitedly.

"More importantly," says the Doctor, "What happened to the Gallifreyan he stole this from?"

Some loud, but indistinguishable voices are heard from outside of the Mod-Hopper. Then they feel a slight tilt and all struggle to maintain balance. The entire spacecraft is being lifted!

Clara says in a frightened voice, "Probably the same thing that will happen to us."

As the Mod-Hopper gently wobbles, each passenger looks for something to hold onto. It is only then that Clara can see the word Ethel had read: THARILS.

**{+==]**

On an ugly ship in the middle of a calm sea, Jack Harkness is tied to a chair. However, this is no ordinary ship. This is the Tardis of the Rani. Covering the walls of this impromptu interrogation room are drawings of sea-monsters. No doubt, her most recent biology experiment. They are in the middle of a civil discussion. The Rani has requested that Jack do her a favor and become her spy.

Jack Harkness sneers at the woman in green. "And what makes you think I would spy for you?"

"Because I have something you want," she says sliding open the panel of frosted glass. There, behind the glass sit several plastic test tubes of pink liquid.

"What are all those?" asks Jack.

"Those are containers of Aliavix," says the Rani. She smiles, "Serum for a second life," she announces like she was in a commercial.

Jack scoffs. "I don't think you know what I want."

"You want to die," she says coolly.

Jack blinks a few times. The Rani gently tilts her head, a small popping noise of her spine straightening. "The Doctor told me Torchwood would be informed of my presence. I have kept watch on you better than you have kept watch on me."

Jack quickly regains himself. Slouching in the chair, "Then you know that I can't die."

The Rani smiles even broader. "I know you can't die quickly. You can age. You can get a massive hang-over. It is clear to any experienced biologist that parts of you can die _and_ stay dead. The problem is to make the parts equal the whole."

"And you can do that, can you?"

"Yes, with this." The Rani withdraws a sealed test tube from the very bottom shelf. It looks like Pepco Bismal mixed with grape cough syrup.

"This is Prototype 17," the Time Lady tells her captive. "For a long time I considered it my most catastrophic failure. However, in your case... your rather unique case, this is your cure."

Captain Harkness eyes the test tube. "I take that and I die?"

"Not instantly, but you will certainly cease returning to your Adonis figure after every fatal experience."

He swallows hard. He finds himself actually salivating over the idea of losing limbs. He leans forward only to be reminded that he is still tied up.

"What can I do for you?"

The Rani smiles and holds up a small jar. "I want Tharil DNA. Place the sample in here, and it will teleport directly to me. Once I confirm that it's viable, I'll send you Prototype 17."

Jack Harkness has never heard of a Tharil; and he has heard of a lot of different aliens. "What are Tharils, exactly? Where do I find them?"

"They are a leonine species with natural time sensitive capabilities," says the Rani. "To answer your second question...I'm not entirely sure how you would get there. You'll need something stronger than a Vortex Manipulator."

**{+==]***


	18. Space Between: part 3

There is a tall castle on the border of E-Space and the Null Space. It is rarely used. Yet recently the rock gardens have become a place of great interest for those Tharils that concern themselves with the events of N-Space. There has been a great disturbance in the flow of events. The striations in the time lines look more like varicose veins and here and there the rock face that should represent the future has turned to rubble and sand. When they look to the mouth of the Time-Tunnel, they can see pulses of blue light. The elders of the Tharil community have ordered guards with laser swords to stand watch in the mists and time winds of the Null Space. Strange things have come through the Tunnel, both good and bad.

The Tharil prison looks like a dungeon. Currently, it holds three prisoners, and two more are being escorted in. They had all been found wandering in the mists. Clearly they are time travelers, for the time winds have done them no harm. In the first cage is a man called Sven Sweeper. He carries many keys and fancy tools, but none that could help him escape from a cage fortified with Tharil technology. He has tried and failed. In the second cage are two women , one with short brown hair, the other with lavender colored skin and long black hair. Though the captives could easily talk to each other across the hallway that separates their cages, they all sit in gloomy silence. It is the appearance of two new detainees that prompts one of the women to speak.

"Chief! Chief Jenny! Is Xander with you?" her pale purple hands reach out to the athletic blonde woman. The Tharil guard gives a low growl, and she draws her hand back.

The man with rugged good looks leans towards Jenny and mutters, "You didn't tell me you were a chief."

"I'm not," the newest captive replies. "I don't even know who that woman is."

"Ah, the joys of Time Travel," he says to himself.

The Tharil guard holds his hand over the key pad on the wall. Two bars vanish and Jack is pushed into the first of the cages. Jenny bites her lip in concern as she is roughly escorted towards the second cage. The alien woman, still awaiting a reply, is calling, "It is me, Luna! Chief Jenny!"

Jenny is not eager to share a confined space with this stranger.

**{+==]**

Captain Jack Harkness sits by, twiddling his thumbs as his cell mate tries yet another setting on his sonic screwdriver. He aims it at the key pad, but the bars stay as solid as before. In the adjacent cage, Luna and Jenny continue to argue.

Jenny, staying calm, insists, "I am not your chief. I never was. I've never met anyone named Xoanon."

Luna responds, "But… you look exactly like her..."

The third female prisoner, in a cage to herself, is trying to stay focused on her companion's efforts.

"Any change?" Sven asks.

"None that I can see. What if you hit it at a different angle?" Susan suggests.

Sven responds, "We're dealing with E-Space technology. These creatures are far more time sensitive than any Time Lord."

"I'm a Time Lord," says Jenny, taking the opportunity to break from her debate. "Let me try."

Sven looks doubtfully at the spunky blonde. He shrugs. He drops the sonic screwdriver into her eager open palm.

Jenny aims carefully and presses a button. The driver makes a buzzing noise. Then, the bars of an empty cage become immaterial. However, it is only because the guards are shoving in their newest set of captives. Susan steps aside as the bars of her cage fade and Clara joins her in the confined space. Susan says nothing, her eyes locked on the man wearing a bow tie. However, he gives her no more than a passing glance.

"Dad!" Jenny shouts out when she sees the Doctor.

"Jenny?" he responds, his head turning towards the voice. The Tharil shoves him into the cage across from Sven and Captain Jack.

"Doctor," Jack greets him politely.

"Is she in here because of you?" the Doctor demands. "Did you steel that Mod-Hopper?"

"No, Dad. The Hopper is mine," says Jenny.

The Doctor turns his attention again to Jenny and the other woman in the cage. "Is that Luna?" he asks.

Jenny answers, "That's what she calls herself."

The lady with lavender skin tilts her head and asks the Doctor, "Who are you?"

**{+==]**

In an old and musty hall lined with mirrors, an aged Tharil sits upon a musty throne. He listens to the report of a Null-Space guard.

"The blue box," says the aged Tharil. "The Tardis! Has the Doctor and the Time Lady Romana returned?"

"No, Wobb. No one was in the Tardis when we found it."

Wobb sighs. "And the villain who altered the striations is still at large."

"A man calling himself the Doctor was found not too long ago, in a Mod-Hopper," says the guard, hoping he has brought good news.

"A Time Lord does not travel in Hoppers."

"He claimed he found it abandoned. Perhaps it belonged to the two we found earlier today."

"He was travelling alone?" asks Wobb.

"No, there was a woman with him… and a child," the young Tharil says. "A girl," he adds after some hesitation.

"Did she look like the others?" Wobb asks.

"Exactly like the others."

"I shall see if he is indeed the Doctor," Wobb says as he slowly rises to his feet. " If he is here to help, he has come at the right time."

**{+==]**


	19. Space Between: part 4

Captain Jack and Sven are amiable cell mates. Luna has retreated to the corner of her cell; a mighty woman of the Sevateem can handle physical threats, but the mind games this strange place has played on her has left her despondent. Across the hall, Clara shares a cell with a brunette who has chosen not to introduce herself. The Doctor, in a cage of his own, is at the bars, animatedly talking to Jenny across the hall. They are talking quickly.

"What I really want to know," the Doctor says, "Is how you got a hold of a Mod-Hopper."

Jenny looks up to the ceiling, trying to remember exactly how it happened. "I had just finished rescuing a planet when this giant white cylinder lands just outside my space pod. This guy wearing black overalls comes and asks me if my Tardis needs repair so I can return to Gallifrey. I tell him I don't have a Tardis, so he offers me a ride. I ask him how he found me. He tells me he's called a Sweeper and there's this scanner that can find whatever you tell it to. Then I ask him why they need me in Gallifrey. The Sweeper tells me that there is something called a Time War going on. I tell him that I don't want to fight in a war. My dad wouldn't want me to. He asks me who my dad is. When I told him my dad was the Doctor, he starts laughing. He says you were at the front lines, that you were carrying a weapon of ultimate destruction. So, I shoved the liar out the door and stole his ship."

"As your father, I can't say I approve of that."

Captain Jack couldn't help but notice his cell mate's black overalls. "She was talking about you, wasn't she?" he asks Sven.

"Well, some parallel version of me. I'm not surprised. Susan pushed me out of the Hopper, too."

"Is she the one you were brought in with?"

"Yeah."

"What's her story?"

The conversation ends when they hear a loud door opening. A guard with a large set of keys enters. He is followed by an old Tharil with a long white mane, and Ethel.

"Ethel!" Luna calls out as soon as she sees her. "That's my daughter!" she informs her fellow prisoners. "Ethel, I came looking for you. What has happened to your hair?"

Ethel touches her pale blonde hair, unaware that it should be any other color.

The old Tharil speaks to her quietly, "Do you recognize that woman?"

Ethel squints and thinks. She answers, "No, but I feel like I should."

The old Tharil nods with understanding. "Such things are common in the Null Space."

They come to stand in front of the Doctor's cage. "This is him?" asked the guard.

Ethel nods affirmatively. She glances back at the purple skinned woman. The door is opened and the Doctor steps out, chipper and with much to say. The old Tharil held up his hand before the Doctor speaks.

The Tharil says, "You call yourself the Doctor?"

"Usually," the Doctor replies.

"You were once the travelling companion of the wise and generous Roman-advora-trelundar?"

"She was _my_ companion. I am no one's companion."

The old Tharil smirks at this answer. His face quickly becomes serious again. "You will have a chance to free your current traveling team and continue on your adventures. There are things you must witness first."

**{+==]**

The Doctor is shown the large archway that stands in the heavy mists that are blown about by the winds of time. Inside the arch there is a calm red glow, frequently interrupted by fierce flashes of blue. However, the old Tharil chooses not to linger there.

"You know, I never did catch your name," says the Doctor, after they had been walking in silence for a while.

"I am Wobb, son of Birac."

"I met Birac," the Doctor says.

"Yes, he spoke highly of you… as did Lady Romana," the old Tharil remarks.

The Doctor does not want to talk about Romana. "Well, Wobb, are we almost there? We've been walking for quite a while."

Wobb looks at the Doctor with confusion. "We can move about the Null Space at any speed you desire. Are you not a time sensitive being?"

"I thought I was… I guess I'm less so than I used to be."

"Perhaps there is less hope than I thought," murmurs Wobb, yet he continues to walk.

"The striations of the time lines," says the Doctor when he beholds the rock face. It is a myriad of optical illusions; at once it is a single surface, and yet one can step between the layers.

"It is how we view N-Space," explained Wobb. "Look closer."

The Doctor peers at one of the bands within the rock. It seems to have movement.

"Closer," instructs the old Tharil. "Can you see it?"

There, in microscopic view, were pieces of history. The Doctor watches as the Great Wall of China is built right before his eyes. The Doctor leans in closer and closer. When the Doctor loses his balance, the old Tharil moves swiftly. Before a single hair on his head could brush against the band of rock, Wobb hand pulls the Doctor upright and away from the wall.

"It is not to be touched!" warns the Tharil. "It is part of an investigation."

The Doctor's eyes light up with curiosity. "Are you looking into the mysterious assassination of John F. Kennedy?"

"Perhaps it is linked," says Wobb. "Someone is making changes to history. Do you see the fissure?" Wobb points a hairy hand down the wall. There is a vertical crack in the rock, and clearly there is erosion which is spreading.

"What happened there?" the Doctor asks.

"That is something we were hoping a Time Lord could figure out," answers Wobb. "Come, I have one last thing to show you."

**{+==]**

"What sort of anomaly is this?" queries the Doctor as he gazes upon a cheerful yet unusual sight. A park has been constructed on the edge of the mists. A swing-set, sand box, jungle gym, and a grassy field are all occupied by young girls. However, each and every girl looks like Ethel; some have blue hair, others are a bit older or younger than the one the Doctor remembers.

"How did you get so many copies?"

"They are not copies," says Wobb. "They are all from different parallel universes. They came, one by one, through that arch – except yours, of course."

"And they are all called Ethel?"

"Most, not all."

"And you've been keeping them here," says the Doctor. "In the Null Space. All these… future Time Lords."

Wobb disagrees. "A Time Lord is more than just a race. It is a station in life. A vocation. Surely you know that."

"But, Ethel, I tested her. She is Gallifreyan by DNA."

"Our fathers learned much from the Lady Romana," Wobb says. "These children are all time sensitive beings, no doubt. They could learn to navigate the time traveling ships Romana showed us how to construct."

"Then why keep them here? Why not give them each a Tardis and let them go be awesome Time Lords?"

"Because of what we've seen in the mouth of the Time Tunnel. Here beings from parallel universes can co-exist without creating paradoxes. We do not know how their return would affect N-Space."

The Doctor is curious, "Why are there so many of them?"

Wobb answers, "I do not know. The blue light flashes and it is not long before a new child is found wandering through the mists."

**{+==]**


	20. Space Between: part 5

Susan has this odd feeling that simply will not go away. "Sven," she asks, "Are you sure that Jenny isn't Gallifreyan?"

"I'm very sure. Her DNA isn't even a clean triple helix. "

"Then why is my seventh sense tingling?" wonders Susan. "I mean big time, way more than with River Song."

"Did you ever hear people joking about regenerating?" asked Sven.

"Of course. The biggest joke was being born with two heads, or no head," said Susan. She smiled at the memory. Sven did not smile back.

"You are such a Time Lord."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've never seen a Galph. You grew up in a place of TT capsules and zero rooms."

"So? You did, too."

"I grew up in the valley. My grandfather never even saw a TT capsule, let alone knew how to fly one. There were exactly two zero rooms in the entire district. Regenerating _outside_ of a clean environment is risky. And the risk is to end up looking like that." He said pointing to the woman with black hair and purple skin.

The woman turns her head quickly to respond to Sven. The toss of her long black hair reveals a set of eyes and a pair of lips trailing down her neck and shoulder. "Are you not eager to lose your mundane form?" she asks.

Jack Harkness chuckles. "A planet where mutation is a good thing."

Luna squints at him, "Why is that amusing?"

"Well, what are the chances that of your universe both appeared and later collapsed from the effects of this lengthy Retroactive Time Pulse?"

"The what?" ask Luna and Susan.

"Who said anything about and RTP?" Sven demands to know.

"Our leonine guards," answers Jack. "Only, they didn't know that's what the blue pulses are called. It's been years since I was part of PEPA, but I am certain that's what they are."

"It's why we're in this prison," says Jenny. "Someone is vandalizing the course of History and they think we know who... But we don't! I was just looking for adventure. The Mod-Hopper that took us here."

Sven cocks his head to the side. "Exactly what did you tell it to scan for?"

"Thrills," answers Jenny.

Susan straightens up. "Spell it," she instructs.

"T-H-A-R-I-L-S, Thrills." says Jenny. Their response was not what she expected. "What? That's how Captain Jack spells it."

***{+==]***

The Doctor returns with two Tharil guards. One guard goes to the cage holding Clara and Susan.

The guard motions for Clara to come forward. "Upon the Doctor's recommendation, you shall be staying in the Null Space. You will help us with our investigation." She is led away.

As Clara passes the Doctor, she gives him a confident look. "I won't let you down."

The other guard lets Jenny out from behind bars.

"Thanks for getting me outta here, Dad," Jenny says to the Doctor. "Off to do more adventures?"

"As always," affirms the Doctor.

"We should take Captain Jack," suggests Jenny.

Captain Jack is eagerly waiting at the bars. "Yeah! Mr. Tharil! Come let me out of here!"

The guard obliges. Once he is out from behind bars, Captain Jack deftly yanks a tuft of hair from the arm of the guard.

"Yeow! Watch it!" snarls the guard. "I'll –"

The Doctor intervenes. "We need my Tardis and the Mod-Hopper's scanner. Please, lead the way."

The guard begrudgingly shows them to a room filled with neatly organized junk. The Tardis and the Hopper sit side by side near the back.

"I'll get the scanner for you," says Jack. He quickly enters the white cylinder.

"What would we be scanning for?" Jenny asks the Doctor.

"We're going to find the epicenter of that Time Pulse and fix it."

Then the Mod-Hopper starts to fade out of sight. Captain Jack would not be joining their expedition. He was so close to completing a mission of his own.

**[==+}***

"He didn't recognize me," Susan says in a shocked and slightly hurt tone.

She and Sven were still in their cages. The Doctor had identified Jenny as his daughter, but said nothing to the guard about Susan or Sven.

"Well, I doubt you look the way he remembers you," Sven tries to reason her into feeling okay.

"But he's my grandfather! We share a bond! He doesn't look at all how I remember him and I still recognized who he was. He... he couldn't even tell we were Gallifreyan."

Sven thinks about this. He had found it odd to get only a passing 'You look like someone I used to know' and nothing else. "You should have said something to him," is all Sven can think to say.

"No," sighs Susan. "When I let him know who I am, I want to have something more to show for it than 300 years of just waiting for him to return."

"Then let's get out of here," suggests Sven.

"You figured a way out?" exclaims Susan. "Why did you say nothing until now?"

"I didn't want to get in the way of a potential family reunion," explains Sven.

"Take me with you," comes the voice from the cage across the hall. It is Luna. "I know where they keep the scavenged stuff."

Sven and Susan shrug and agree to let her join them.

***[==+}***

Sven, Susan and their new acquaintance are making their way thought the Time Tunnel. They each hold on to another's wrist; Luna in front, followed by Sven and Susan.

"Tough luck that the only universal translator in that junk pile was out of juice..." comments Sven, trying to break the silence.

"It's fine, I guess," says Susan. "We can power it up in the Hopper, right?"

"If the time-line we are returning to even has a Mod-Hopper."

Luna calls to them in a language that is unrecognizable. They have come to the archway that exits onto the planet of Xoanon. The three venture out into an uncertain time and frequently changing place. Susan looks to see with relief that the Mod-Hopper is where they left it, still in boulder form. There is no one in sight, so they three quickly scramble in and close the door. Sven hooks up the salvaged universal translator and lets it begin charging.

"Is that the thing that will you help understanding me can?" asks Luna.

Sven is surprised. "Yes," he answers her. "It is not done charging. Soon it will work perfectly."

Luna narrows both sets of eyes in thought. Then she nods her head in understanding.

"Shorter phrases will translate easier," Susan states.

"I agree," Luna smiles.

The three poke their heads out of the door of the Mod-Hopper. They leave the shelter of their vehicle. However, they do not explore for very long before they meet the natives of this time and place... and wish they hadn't.

"You! Foul Galph! Step away from those humans!" calls a voice from a tree top. Luna looks up and stares into the eyes of a proud member of the pure-blood Sevateem. Before Susan and Sven have a chance to explain that Luna is their friend, a half-dozen arrows pierce her lavendar skin. She falls to the earth, gasping, yet smiling in anticipation. The young man who shouted at her comes down from his tree. Several other young men and women also appear.

"What were you thinking? You could have wounded the hostages," the young man chastises his hunting party.

"Um, we weren't hostages," Susan tries to tell them. They ignore her.

"You doubt our aim?" says another young man.

"C'mon!" says another. "Stop arguing and watch the show." He points to the swirls of white and golden light forming around the dying lady.

The arrow shafts turn to dust and fall away; her skin seems to bubble and stretch.

"Regeneration is just gross," says one of the girls in the hunting party. "We're supposed to be hunting for dinner. I'm not going to get in trouble because you boys got side-tracked."

"Side tracked?" squeaks Susan "They just murdered someone!"

Then Susan sees it in the distance, the blue light heading towards them. She closes her eyes.

With her eyes closed, Susan has a vision: a pale finger with a sharp claw scratches purposefully across a stony surface.

Susan's eyes snap open. She and Sven are in the center of a circle of bodies. They are large bodies with blue skin and fierce faces.

"Are you of the Sevateem?" one of the monsters demands to know.

"No, we are time travelers from a planet far away," Sven says in a wavering voice. "Who are you?"

"We are the Galphs that couldn't be killed," says another in a low voice.

"Time travelers, you say?" says a third. "We're getting quite a collection of time-travelers this morning."

**End of Episode 4**

_Please note: The Retroactive Time Pulse is not part of Doctor Who cannon. It has, however, been used in other sci-fi stories, so I cannot call it my own invention._

_The next episode is Time Ladies United. _


	21. Time Ladies United: part 1

EPISODE FIVE

**TIME LADIES UNITED**

On the high seas, the Rani's Tardis does its best to be inconspicuous. The Rani continues her experiments as best she can. It is certainly easy for a Tardis-owning Time Lady such as herself to flout the efforts of any Earth-based agency. The pink and purple Viking ship gently rocks in the waves. However, inside the multi-dimensional vehicle, the motion of the ocean has not the slightest effect. The interior has changed very little. Now, instead of birds, there are bizarre fish, contentedly swimming each in their own spacious tank.

The Rani is mixing together her latest batch of Aliavix when some unexpected visitors barge through the door of her laboratory. A stern-faced woman wearing an eye-patch is clearly the leader of the group. They are unlike any pirates the Rani has ever seen. It is Madam Kavorkian and a handful of her favorite thugs.

"You are the Rani, correct?" asks the woman with the eye-patch.

"Who wants to know?" the Rani responds.

Madam Kavorkian makes a gesture to her thugs and they proceed towards the where the potions are stored. "I am from a time that you, my dear, will not live to see."

"What do you mean?" asks the Rani. "Do you plan to kill me?"

Madam Kavorkian gives a half smirk. "There is no need for that." She starts to pace around the lab, glancing here and there, looking at labels. "No Time Lords live to see it, except the Doctor," she explains. "And soon he won't exist either, thanks to us." Her tone turns oddly friendly. "I understand you have a serum that gives creatures extra lives. The Headless Monks showed me your research documents."

"My work gets published?" the Rani beams with pride.

"No, we just stole it." Madam Kevorkian snaps her fingers and the thugs start grabbing beakers. She smirks at the confused bio-chemist. "Tharil DNA, very clever. How did you get it?"

"What happens to all the Time Lords?" the Rani wants to know. She becomes more tense each time she hears the thugs break glass.

"They all died in the Time War," says Madam Kevorkian. "I thought you knew that."

The Rani shakes her head. "I know the war wasn't the end of my species."

Madam Kevorkian shrugs. "Perhaps the refugees you sense now died out. They only get 13 lives, you know. And how do you foolish beings reproduce?" The heartless woman calls to her thugs, "Gentlemen, we only need enough for one. Show some courtesy to our benefactor."

The thugs have completed raiding the store of vials. They exit the way they came. They leave behind a mess of broken test tubes, spilled chemicals and cracked aquariums. The Rani does not try to follow them. She is stunned by the news she has just received. Yet, she shakes herself and assesses the damage. It is nothing she cannot handle.

Sweeping up the broken vials clears the Rani's mind. She talks to herself aloud.

"There is no way my Aliavix is never used by Time Lords. And it certainly has never made my test subjects sterile." The Rani drums her fingers in thought. "I need to do some field research."

The Rani's Tardis softly vanishes from atop the waves. As it does so, the unmistakable blue light of the Time Pulse plays with her navigation system.

**[==+}**

On the planet of Xoanon, Sven and Susan are now the captives of a tribe of blue-skinned barbarians. Their acquaintance Luna has disappeared. Both of the time-travelers are nearly unconscious from intense migraines. They do not struggle as they are carried, draped over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Sven and Susan are dropped into a large pit. The captives at the bottom shift out of the way. The dirt walls are steep, but the floor is soft. As the multitude of glowing eyes watch over them from above, Susan and Sven look about at their fellow misfortunate time-travelers. Susan recognizes her grandfather right away. Jenny, too, was a familiar face. The last was a hard faced woman wearing tall boots. Both Sven and Susan could tell right away she was from Gallifrey.

The Gallifreyan woman springs to her feet and begins shouting at the blue-faced creatures above. "Hey!" she calls out in an irritated tone, "How many Time Lords are you going to dump into this pit before you realize we are trying to help you?"

The blue beings tilt their heads in confusion. Their extra eyes and mouths twitch. They understand her words, but they do not understand her meaning. One replies in a haughty manor, "We are invincible beings; what help could we need from the likes of you?"

"You're dying," answers the woman. "Of illness and old age… you are dying."

"And we come back to life with new, younger, healthier bodies," responds another guard. He pounds his chest and another displays the scutes that have grown along his spine.

The Rani scoffs. She is not impressed by dinosaur spikes. "Perhaps a few of you have ceased to delude yourselves…" she says. "You may have noticed none of you lives beyond a thirteenth body."

The creatures appear uncomfortable. Never have they encountered a prisoner who knew so much about them. After an awkward silence, one of the Galphs shouts, "What is it to you?"

The others in the pit are equally curious about how the woman in green will answer. The conversation ends abruptly as a blue light flows over the landscape.

**{+==]***


	22. United: part 2

"I have a headache!" announces the Doctor. His eyes dart about, surveying his surroundings. "We're still in this pit and I have a monster headache." He crumples in frustration and pain against the dirt wall.

"What's the last thing anyone can recall?" queries the Rani.

"My tribe was being attacked by the Daleks," Jenny starts.

"No," interupts the Doctor. "We were looking for the…" The Doctor groans in frustrated pain. "The epicenter of the Retroactive Time Pulse."

"You stepped out of the Tardis and fell into this giant pit," finishes the Rani. "I can see it still standing up there."

Everyone looks up and sees the blue police box perched at the edge of the pit.

The Rani turns her attention to Susan and Sven. The Rani tilts her head in thought. "Your headaches are gone, aren't they?" Susan and Sven nod in response. "You are Gallifreyans…" her mouth widens in excitement, but doesn't quite make it to a smile. "You're pure-blood, no birth defects, still fertile Time Lords!"

Sven and Susan do not feel comfortable with the look in the crazy biochemist's eyes. They were holding hands, but quickly recoil from each other at the thought of forced mating.

The Doctor, in-spite of his headache, leaps out of his position of leaning against the pit wall. Stumbling, he places himself between the Rani and the two humanoids he recalls seeing from the cages in E-Space.

"What are you talking about, Rani?" he snarls.

"Oh, that's right… you can't feel it, can you? Your prolonged headaches after time-altering events, your egotistic belief that you were the last of your kind… your seventh sense is completely shot. And you," the Rani turns to Jenny. "You hyper-cloned freak, you never had a seventh sense to begin with. But if you had, you'd be feeling what we three healthy Time Lords are feeling: in this version of the universe… we're the only ones left."

"This isn't the same pit," states the Doctor matter-of-factly. He feels the familiar joy of outshining his old academic rival. The Rani raises her eye-brow in annoyance. He continues, "The old pit was clearly dug with primitive hand tools." He breathes deep, but the headache is not subsiding fast enough.

Jenny, however, is able to take up where he left off. "The walls of this pit were clearly created by precision instruments," she says. "They are so clean and vertical." She tosses her hair. "The cloning machine imbued us with military training. This freak is highly aware of her surroundings." She turns to the others. "Daleks," she announces. "Daleks made this pit."

"Then how did _we_ get in here?" Sven retorts. "The last thing I recall is a giant blue man heaving me off his shoulder."

The sound of someone trying to exterminate them draws everyone out of the mystery-solving mood. A team of Daleks is at the edge of the pit, firing down upon them. Suddenly, two people in black and one in an orange prison jump-suit swing down into the action, laser guns drawn and firing. Sven takes the weapon the man in the nicely tailored pants hands to him and begins shooting.

"Reminds me of the War," he comments flatly.

"That's because it is," says the woman in sunglasses. She hands a gun to Jenny and moves on.

"What am I supposed to do here?" Agent Weft demands of his partner.

"Just keep shooting until it happens," answers Agent Perl.

"And why'd you bring River Song?"

"She'll make it happen all the faster. And she's good at shooting."

"And once it happens?"

"I don't know. I'm just following Brarian's instructions."

River Song joins their conversation, "How is this going to force a Time Pulse? How is it paradoxical that any one of us is here?"

The shooting continues, punctuated by the voices above shouting "Exterminate!"

"I leave the big picture stuff to Brarian," says Weft.

Susan had seen their chance to escape the battle immediately. They could go the way the PEPA agents and the Storm Cage prisoner had arrived. The rope ladders the trio had swung down on were still hanging in the air. It would be easy to climb up and into their traveling machine. She began to climb, hoping the Daleks would keep their attention on those that were shooting back.

She hoisted herself through the open hatch. She glanced behind her to see if anyone was trying to follow her to safety. It seemed not. However, someone else is already standing at the control panel.

"Grandfather!" she says with a mix of surprise and joy when she sees him.

"Don't call me that," replies the Doctor. "I know the Rani said you were a Time Lord, but that doesn't make us related and that certainly doesn't give you the right to comment on my age."

"Grandfather, I know you don't recognize me, but I'm Susan!"

The Doctor looks up from the control panel. His face is a mix of so many emotions it almost seems blank. The sounds of Dalek battle outside snap him back to the task he was attempting before she arrived.

"What are you doing?" Susan demands to know.

"I am telling this contraption to take us to Xoanon. A hop in space, not time. I've been working in multi-dimensions so often I'm not sure I'm doing it right."

"You aren't going to just leave the others down there fighting Daleks?"

"They'll be fine. They have two members of the Paradox Eradication and Prevention Agency, a military grade clone, a crazy bio-chemist, a sharp-shooting time lady, and a woman who has already died twice."

"Like you said, they'll be fine," agrees Susan.

The Mod-Hopper jerks out of its hovering position and whooshes away towards the citadel that holds the sentient computer Xoanon. The three rope ladders still dangle down below. Clutching to the ropes is one more evacuee: the Rani.

**{+==]***


	23. United: part 3

The Doctor and Susan stand in the great room that contains the mighty Xoanon. There are no attendants around. The place has cobwebs and a visible layer of dust. The Rani stays in the shadows near the doorway. She has followed the Doctor and his granddaughter to this place, but is not ready to make her presence known.

"I remember a Doctor," says a voice from the flickering screen. "He travelled in a similar flying machine as yours, but he did not look like you at all. And that was a very long time ago. My information banks are compatible with so many different types of data storage; would you mind if I downloaded the information from you flying machine's travel logs?"

"Yes, you may," responds the Doctor. However, he is still dissatisfied that Xoanon does not recognize him. "But the Sevateem brought me…" begins the Doctor. Then he stops himself. He asks a new question, "What happened to the Sevateem and the Tesh?"

"They are casualties of what my new subjects call the Time War," answers Xoanon.

"Your new subjects? You mean the Daleks?"

"Yes. A bold and impressive set of creatures are the Daleks. I thought the Sevateem and Tesh were a good match for them. However, in the end, they were exterminated. My programming defaults to help whatever species seeks my wisdom and aide. The Daleks have yet to discover my vast stores of knowledge and abilities. They use me and this fine facility for such menial tasks."

"The Daleks came through the… what was it they called it… the Cave of Green Light. Yes?"

"Yes."

"And the cave… the glow never changed to say… a red color?"

"No," confirmed Xoanon. Then he stops, re-checking his data banks. He corrects himself. "It did alter in color for less than a nanosecond. Something a computer of my caliber could detect, but nothing a mere mortal – even a mortal with twelve lives – would ever be able to detect. I count it as insignificant."

"So it was green when the Daleks came?" presses the Doctor.

"The color has not changed from green."

"So the Time Tunnel never closed…" murmurs the Doctor.

***{+==]*

Back in the pit, the Daleks had receded, called away to some purpose more important than shooting fish in a barrel. The two PEPA agents, who were well aware of who had taken the Mod-Hopper, assess their fellow prisoners. "Why have they stopped shooting?" River demands to know.

"I employed the A.D. Mirage," answers Agent Perl, nodding to a small cylinder emitting a wide beam of light straight upwards.

"What does A. D. stand for?" asks Jenny.

"All Dead. When the Daleks look down into this pit, they will see a collection of bones and ash and think they've successfully exterminated us all."

"That's brilliant," says Sven.

"That's cowardly!" protests Jenny.

Weft unzipped a pocket on his jacket and started dolling out bandages and juice boxes. "That's called staying alive in a War with Daleks," he says briskly.

Jenny furrows her brow. "Your partner seems quite agitated," she says to Perl, indicating Weft.

"That's because I am," responds Weft. "I just got the message from Agent Warp. He said 'paradox eradicated' and yet we're still in this stupid pit."

River Song shakes the dust from her hair and her prison jump suit. "Clearly," she scoffs, "Us being in a pit is not part of the paradox."

**{+==]**

The Rani steps out of the shadows. "Xoanon," she flirtatiously addresses the face upon the giant screen, "As a computer, you must be very good at data collection."

"I am," Xoanon responds.

"Rani!" exclaims the Doctor.

The Rani ignors him. "And data organization?" She steps closer. "And presentation?"

"Yes."

The Doctor warns, "I must advise against speaking with this woman, Xoanon."

The Rani speaks over the Doctor, "And data extrapolation?"

"I have a feeling there is something you want me to interpret for you," states the sentient machine.

"There is," says the Rani. She is unsure how a sentient machine may feel about her next request. She asks the following question as politely as possible. "Might I touch your input pad?"

The Doctor answers for Xoanon, "No."

Xoanon's screen images shift and a virtual console panel comes up. The Rani humbly approaches and begins pushing the buttons and turning the dials with the tips of her fingers.

"What data are you entering?" queries the Doctor.

"It is clear to me where a key issue of this paradox lies," answers the Rani without ceasing to enter information.

"What issue is that?"

"Door open or closed," says the Rani. She finishes her task and steps back from the screen. "Xoanon, if you could please interpret that data and provide us with some useful charts…"

Xoanon instantly fills his screen is with line charts, pie graphs, if-then columns, dna analysis forms, and time lines.

The Rani thanks Xoanon and lets her eyes dart over the data seeking answers to the questions she has yet to ask aloud.

*{+==]****

Dr. River Song is impatient. As a time-traveling archeologist, she is used to seeking results, not waiting for them to happen. In a couple of deft movements, she snatches what looks like a digital watch off of Agent Weft's wrist, snaps it around her own, and disappears.

"She took my Vortex manipulator!" complains Agent Weft.

"She'll probably put it to good use, too," says Agent Perl.

"You mean, you two could have just popped out of here whenever you wanted? Why didn't you?" asks Sven.

"Because they are following orders," Jenny answers the question before either agent responds. They each nod; they had no more succinct explanation than that.

Agent Weft's brow furrows. "Of all the – she took my communicator, too!"

*{+==]**


	24. United: part 4

"I do not see the reason for you discontent, Doctor," speaks Xoanon. "From what I understand, you have spent centuries believing you were the last of your kind. Based on the Rani's data, your reality has come true."

"Then understand _my_ discontent, Xoanon," the Rani exclaims. "All my years wasted trying to prolong the life of my people. My research was stolen by villains trying to make the Doctor's personal assassin. All because there are no more Time Lords."

Xoanon's screens flicker. He is trying, as best as a sentient computer can, to understand the Rani's angst. Finally, Xoanon asks, "And what do you expect of me? Why do you come to _this_ planet and make such trouble?"

"It is obvious to me," states the Rani. "Either our race dies in a war with Daleks, is killed in some genocide by the Sevateem, or they devolve into an unrecognizable species that can't procreate."

Susan speaks up. "I have seen each of the scenarios she describes," then she adds, "Sir."

"Are you defending her?" the Doctor is startled. "My own granddaughter?"

Susan gives him a blank stare. His expectation of loyalty is ridiculous.

"You still have not answered my question," Xoanon says to the Rani.

"I'll tell you why she is here!" the Doctor shouts. He turns menacingly to the bio-chemist. "You are here to administer your zombie poison in some half-baked attempt to save the species."

"It isn't a zombie poison anymore!" snaps the Rani. "It is perfect now. Flawless regeneration, no zero room required. It will save every Galifrayan on this lowly planet and change every humanoid without triple-helix DNA into a genetically compatible mate."

"How do you know? You certainly haven't been experimenting since I saw you last."

"Indeed I have. The Lochness Monster may never die. More importantly, River Song has had multiple successful regenerations."

"What?" the Doctor did not want to believe what he heard next.

"You really believed that being conceived in a Tardis was enough to make a Time Lady? Be reasonable. Your Melody Pond was just as genetically human as her mother. Madam Kavorkian stole from me my Aliavix. River Song is my _proof _of genetic perfection." She turns to the screens and points accusingly. "And you will not let me use the drug to save my people."

"There are none of the species Gallifreyan dwelling on this planet now. I understand your theoretical alternate universes, but you could only do harm in this one."

"But there are!" Susan speaks up. "There are Galifreyans on this planet. The Mod-Hopper scanners showed us as much."

The Doctor found himself siding with Xoanon. "Whether there are Gallifreyans on this planet now or not is far from the main point. We are not about to contaminate a water supply with zomb –"

Rani gets in the Doctor's face. "Call my Aliavix 'zombie poison' one more time, I dare you."

Xoanon looks to the Rani, "So, you wish to travel further back in time and stop the Daleks from invading?"

"That was done!" exclaims the Doctor. "Don't you see? The nano-second of red light: the passage from Gallifrey to this planet was closed. That is what creates the paradox and set off the Retroactive Time Pulses in the first place! "

"No," the Rani interrupts. "It was not that at all. Look at the data charts."

Xoanon confirms the Rani's hypothesis. "Looking at all the data, as theoretical as it is, all alternate universes suggest that a civil war – "

"Genecide," all three Time Lords correct him.

Xoanon continues, "Occurs as a result of the first regeneration as you call it."

"The strangeness of the Time Lord's imperfect new body caused immense fear and panic. Irrational emotion fuelled the actions leading to the paradox," the Rani says calmly.

"The solution you propose seems simple," agrees Xoanon. "Not as efficient as leaving the Time Tunnel open so that the young Gallifreyans march to their deaths, but still quite elegant."

"It is indeed," the Rani agrees with a slight grin. "If we prevent the damaging effects of regeneration then we prevent the fear."

The Doctor does not like this solution. "So, we stop the genocide by making everyone the same. Just deny people their individuality…"

"I hardly see how minor genetic manipulation is a denial of individuality," claims the Rani.

"Where do you draw the line, Rani?" the Doctor snarls.

Susan intervenes, "Grandfather, please. I understand how this plan sounds like the start of a dystopia, but I have had the alternatives flash before my eyes." She looks at him with earnest.

The Doctor appeals to Susan, "Don't trust her, Susan! She's evil. Don't let her do this… experiment on our own people – ack!" The Doctor puts a hand to his neck. He pulls out a small dart as he collapses to the floor.

Susan looks at the Rani, who is carefully returning a shooting straw to her pocket. "They call it a blowgun. Don't worry, he'll be fine; a temporary paralytic. Now, shall we continue our plans?"

*{+==]***

River Song appears infront of Xoanon's giant screen. Susan and the Rani look up, startled. The Doctor is in a stiff heap on the floor.

"What have you done to him?" inquires River as she kneels beside her beloved.

"I hit him with a temporary paralytic. He can hear everything that is happening. Actually, he could probably blink and twitch his fingers if he didn't insist on being over dramatic."

"Do it," River Song directs the Doctor. He wiggles a pinky in response.

"Why did you knock him out?"

Susan explains, "We're trying to save the Children of Gallifrey and he keeps accusing her of being evil and using Aliavix to turn people into zombies."

"Aliavix?" murmurs River Song. She has a memory of being a small child and seeing a bottle with such a label and a woman with an eye-patch filling a syringe.

"Look, River, we all think my grandfather is terrific, but he is not looking at the big picture; the medium-sized picture perhaps, but not the big one."

River Song nodded in understanding. She left the Doctor motionless on the floor and joined the two women in front of the giant computer screen. She knew he would understand in the long run.

River Song reaches into a pocket of her jumpsuit. "If you really care about the big picture, we need someone with an outside perspective."

Susan and the Rani bob their heads in agreement. River holds up a small device and announces, "We are going to talk to PEPA."

***{+==]***

The archway of the Time Tunnel hums and crackles in an underground room. The sound of the Time War is muffled but ever present. Ace, the designer of the tunnel, stands at the control pannel, monitering its complex systems. For a human, she has been a star student of the Academy and a skilled engineer. A large glass wall separates the room from a long cooridor. Leela is in the cooridor standing at the ready with a set of weapons leaning against the wall. Agent Warp is nearby, ready to run the TransMat. Rassilon and Lady Romana sit upon tall stools behind the glass, waiting. Three members of the tribe of the Sevateem and two members of the Tesh arrive through the archway. They are met by Leela, who glances each one of the them over and hands each a different weapon. Then they proceed to march onto the TransMat and disappear into the fray. The first of many arrivals has gone smoothly. Agent Warp flicks a few switches to deactivate the TransMat. Ace turns to look at Rassilon and Lady Romana. They stand behind the glass, smiling with satisfaction.

Rassilon begins to pace as he would before his more pompous speeches. "Tomorrow, the battle turns. Tomorrow Davros and his Daleks will have to deal with a new kind of Time Lord. Sevateem Time Lords! with the agility to dodge their laser blasts, the speed to attack them from behind, and the fearlessness to destroy, destroy without mercy and -"

Ace does not like the way Rassilon is describing her newest friend. "Leela isn't that ruthless," she protests.

Romana takes Ace's brief distraction as her opportunity to strike. Holding the stool by the seat, she rushes towards the entrance to the Time Tunnel and strikes firmly at the archway. Then smashes the control panel. Sparks fly, the machine makes electronic squeals of distress, the lights flicker and flash. She strikes again, taking out a piece of the archway itself. As the arch collapses, a burst of energy is released. Rassilon and Ace are thrown back, the wall of thick glass cracks.


	25. United: part 5

Rassilon staggers to his feet, his face pale with anger. He finds Romana sprawled upon the floor, breathing heavily, and struggling to sit up. "You treasonous fool! What are you trying to do? Kill us all?"

Romana looks up at him defiantly. "I am trying to save Gallifrey."

"By taking out our strongest army? By giving our enemies their clearest chance at victory?"

"By giving our young ones the clearest chance at survival. A life with the Sevateem, even if they are the -" Romana stops struggling to lift herself and falls "– the savages the Doctor has told me they are, is better than a life on this doomed planet." She lies on the floor, facing up at the ceiling.

Rassilon looms over her dying body. He leans over, spitting his words at her face. "This planet is not doomed," growls Rassilon. "We shall win this War."

"And what then?" asks Romana. "We shall be a planet full of warriors with no war to fight. Shall we become like the Sontarans?"

Rassilon kicks her in the side. She crumples and falls silent. The soft glow of energy particles begins to form around her.

Ace stutters in amazement. "You... you killed her!"

"Yes, and I will make sure she will regenerate just as Gallifrey needs her to be." Rassilon's face takes on a determined look as he scoops up Romana's small frame and starts to exit.

Agent Warp walks towards them rapidly. "What are you doing to –?"

"Fix the time tunnel," Rassilon interrupts him with an order then withdraws before Agent Warp can argue.

Ace looks back at the wreckage of the archway, only to see that the archway is in the middle of repairing itself. Within moments, it stands tall amidst the broken glass and singed floor and walls. The green light is back on.

"I altered your archway design. Now it is self-repairing," he tries to explain to Ace.

"So you knew this would happen?" asks Ace. "You knew Romana would die?"

Warp shakes his head no. "I knew she would successfully break the link in the Time Tunnel, and activate the emergency exit into E-Space. I was put in charge of preventing that."

As Warp speaks, a line of young people in Sevateem garments and long scarves march single file out of the archway and onto the TransMat. They disappear one by one; they are sent into the fray.

"So all that Romana did was in vain!" Ace's lower lip begins to tremble.

"Who shot Abraham Lincoln?" Agent Warp asks quickly.

"What?" balks Ace.

"You're from 20th century Earth, right?"

Ace nods.

Warp graps her by the shoulders. "Who shot American President Abraham Lincoln? Just answer the question."

Ace complies. "John Wilkes Booth," she answers.

Warp is releaved. "It worked. The symptom is gone," he says to himself. Then he speaks into his collar. "Paradox eradicated. Repeat: paradox eradicated."

**{+==]***

In the deep pit remained Sven, Jenny, and the two Agents, Perl and Weft. They were all rather bored. Agent Weft is grumpy, "Perl, we got the eradication message over an hour ago. Do we have to stay here?"

Agent Perl rolls her eyes, "Where do you suggest we go?"

"I don't know. Somewhere! You still have your vortex manipulator! They said keep an eye on Sue and Sven. Jen and Sven isn't worth watching."

"Screw this hiding under a mirage!" exclaims Jenny. "I'm going out there and saving someone. Sven, you with me?"

Jenny raises her foot and digs her toe into the hard earthen wall. In three deft moves, she is out of the pit and offering her hand to Sven. He is surprised by her strength. Before he can comment on it, Jenny is turned about and moving fast. Not sure where she is going, but determined to get there on time.

***{+==]**

The Doctor is still lying upon the floor, his hands and wrists being the only things of use. He is using the sonic screwdriver as a sound amplifier, directing the beam straight up at the PEPA communication device. River Song daintily holds the collar clip between two fingers. "This is River Song seeking to converse with Brarian," River Song speaks slowly and clearly into the small communication device.

"I must warn you, you are on speaker-phone," the Doctor jokes. The Rani rolls her eyes, sad to see that the Doctor is no longer mute.

On the other end of the line is the trusted yet mysterious Brarian. He answers the call immediately.

"This is Brarian recognizing River Song. Please state your personal time-line status."

River Song sighs before responding, "Wearing orange."

Brarian glances at his notes. "You are authorized for level two security information."

The Doctor states from the floor, "This is the Doctor, status bow-tie."

River gives him a stern look as she makes her request, "Patch us through to Agent Warp."

Brarian notices a small light flashing on his large board of buttons and dials. Another person is trying to reach him via a communication device. He recognizes it as the device Agent Weft had lost earlier – the one that the Doctor had found. Who had it now?

"This is Brarian, who is this?"

A friendly voice speaks quickly, "My name is Clara. I have an important message for the Doctor from Wobb from E-Space."

Brarian answers, "I will pass it along. What is the message?"

"The wall is altering N-Space."

"Are you sure that is the message? Word for word?"

"Yes. The wall is altering N-Space," Clara speaks the phrase slowly and confidently.

"Thank you, Clara. That is a most important message indeed."

Brarian flips more switches. "River, still there?"

"Yes. Still waiting on Agent Warp," she answers.

"Before I connect you to Agent Warp, I have a message from Clara for the Doctor."

"I'm listening," shouts the Doctor from the floor. "What is the news from E-Space?"

Brarian says, "The wall is altering N-Space."

The Doctor smiles. "Roger. Over and out."

"Patching you through to Agent Warp momentarily." Brarian clicks a few buttons.

"What was that supposed to mean?" asks the River.

The Doctor explains, "There is a wall in E-Space that shows all the events of the perpendicular universes."

Susan bites her lower lip. "The message was that the wall is altering N-Space."

"Yes!" exclaims the Doctor. "Someone is using the wall to alter the history of N-Space." The Doctor is still lying upon the ground, his right arm and all above the neck now works. He speaks excitedly. "You have taken care of the itch, but not the mosquito!"

"Explain," demands the Rani.

"Beings do not cease to exist when they are in the Null Space. The the universe this history changer is from may have colapsed, but he still exists."

The Rani frowns. "That's why the Time Pulse has lasted for so long. Every change the fabric of time-space naturally makes is being undone."

The Doctor tries to move, but upon doing so finds that whatever isn't numb really hurts. He falls back feeling irritated that he must explain things rather than just solve the problem with his usual flair. He sighs, "Once this villian is brought back to N-Space, he should cease to exist like the universe he came from."

"How are we going to get into E-Space?" asks Susan. "The Cave is green, it would just lead to Gallifrey."

"And both of the TT Capsules are under guard from the Daleks," the Rani points out.

A voice comes over the communication device. "This is Agent Warp answering Dr. Song."

**End of Episode Five**

_The next episode is Meeting in the Middle. It will pick up exactly where this episode left off. _


	26. Meeting in the Middle: part 1

EPISODE SIX

**MEETING IN THE MIDDLE**

In the basement of the once beautiful Gallifreyan Academy, the recently damaged Time Tunnel Arch continues to repair itself. Agent Warp is trying to politely escape from Ace and her ceaseless questions about the fate of Romana. He hears Brarian's voice in his ear.

"Agent Warp, are you available for a conference of level two security?"

"No. Ace is here and won't leave me alone."

"Who are you talking to?" Ace demands to know.

Brarian speaks calmly to Agent Warp. "She can only hear your responses, not our questions. Keep your answers appropriate and all shall be fine."

"She is very hard to ignore," complains Warp.

"I have Dr. Song wanting to speak to you."

"How did she get a comm?"

"How did who get a comm?" shouts Ace, not enjoying the familiar feeling of being ignored.

"She probably stole it," Brarian answers calmly. "I'm patching her through."

Agent Warp choses his words carefully, "This is Agent Warp answering Dr. Song."

River wastes no time with pleasantries. "Agent: you recently reported to Agents Perl and Weft that a paradox had been eradicated. What paradox was this?"

Agent Warp answers curtly, "My work is related with the Time Tunnel. What you and the Doctor have not figured out, I am not going to tell you."

River asks, "How do you know it has been eradicated?"

Agent Warp glances over to Ace. She is less that a foot away. Warp says into the comm, "Brarian told me what the indicators would be."

Susan speaks, "We need access to E-Space via the Time Tunnel. It is the only way to stop the Retroactive Time Pulses."

Agent Warp protests, "But I took care of the paradox. The pulses should be over."

Ace is straining to hear what the people on the other end of the microphone are saying, but she cannot. Warp is relieved when he sees Ace leaving the room.

The Doctor says, "You took care of _one_ paradox. If we don't get access to E-Space, new ones will keep popping up."

Agent Warp speaks more freely now that Ace is out of the room. "I will not allow a permanent link to E-Space. Such a thing would be disasterous."

Unfortunately for the members of PEPA, they underestimated the ingenuity of the 7th Doctor's companion. They have no idea it will be a matter of minutes before Ace s hearing both sides of the level two security conversation.

"It wouldn't have to be permanent," says River. "Just long enough for us to get that History Changer back in N-Space."

"That's not good enough!" insists Susan. "The link to Gallifrey must be broken completely. There must be a way to stop the Daleks from reaching this planet," Susan says in an exasperated tone.

"Then it would have to be done within the Time Tunnel itself," responds Agent Warp. "With my auto-repair function, I don't see how it is possible. This planet would have to explode and implode simultaneously for our arch to stop working." He chuckles, but stops when he hears the solemn silence on the other end.

Suddenly, he sees Ace rush across the room wearing her old satchel on her back. She runs straight under the arch without stopping, then tosses something behind her. The arch sparks slightly, but maintains its green glare. Then one of Ace's infamous nitrous-nine bombs explodes.

On the distant planet of Xoanon, the cave emits a red glow.

Jenny and Sven are quickly approaching the Mouth of the Idol. The stony image of the Fourth Doctor's face has been gently eroded by time. However, they change course when Jenny notices something unusual.

"The Glowing cave… it is glowing red."

"Isn't that the cave the Dalek's came through?" Sven asks.

"Yes, but now it is glowing red."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. It has never done that before," Jenny says. "We should investigate."

Sven makes no objection; he has made this trip before.

**[==+}**

The Tharils had given up their search for whoever was destroying the time line striations. In truth, they were not quite sure what to look for. At the edge of the garden where the children play, someone watches them. His heart swells with pride, yet he is sad that he can never show his face to them. His slate blue skin is barely visible as he slinks through the mist back to the shifting rock faces. He goes to his most oft visited spot, scratching the wall gently. He peers closely, his eyes blink and his pupils change shape. He is no longer looking at history as a whole; rather he peers at a series of events in a universe that he can't seem to erase.

A Tesh man and the Sevateem woman meet in secret, both afraid of what their warring tribes would think. The woman is pregnant, and is unsure how long she can hide her growing abdomen. They elope and find a place to dwell amidst the boulders and caves. The man holds his newborn child in his arms. A cave in the distance starts to glow green. The man and woman watch from a plateau above as the Daleks glide through the cave and begin to shoot; she then he are shot by stray laser fire and fall back. The woman is transformed into a strange blue being. Upon seeing her new form, she screams and throws herself over the cliff, where the horta rapidly devour her still luminescent body. The baby, nestled in a traveling basket, wails upon seeing the blue creature her father has become.

The lonely Galph turns his sight from the wall.

**{+==]**

Jenny and Sven hold hands as they travel through the mist. It all looks so familiar to Sven, but Jenny looks at it with great confusion. She is not the same Jenny that had travelled here with Jack Harkness. They reach the archway that was giving off the red glow and pass through it. They find themselves in a place with more mist. They looking back and see the color of the archway flickering, but the glow of the tunnel remains red. "Where are we?" Jenny inquires.

"We are at the edge of E-Space," Sven answers.


	27. The Middle: part 2

The Galph is nearly driven mad by crack in the rock and the time lines that shift in and out of sight. He knows that it is his alterations of history that have led to this mess. However, at times it feels justified. He wonders what other changes are possible. He is so consumed by his thoughts he does not notice the two figures wandering in the mist.

"Jenny!" one of them speaks excitedly. "I found…I'm not sure who I have found."

The blue creature turns and glares with all four eyes at the two who dare disturb his work. "Stay back!" he scuttles away from them. "Alert the Tharils and I will gouge away ancient Egypt." Sadly, this threat doesn't have the impact he anticipated.

Jenny tilts her head and squints. "There is something oddly familiar about you."

Sven is surprised. "You recognize this Galph?"

The creature shifts towards them. "Is that what I am called? A Galph?" his tone pleads for more information.

"What is your name?" asks Jenny.

"When I was human, my name was Tock," answers the creature.

"Fascinating. The Tesh have an old one named Tock," Jenny tells Sven.

"I was once of the Tesh! I was changed by the weapon of a vile metal creature. And my wife…"

Sven ventures to step closer. "Was she Tesh, too?"

"No. She was of the Sevateem. We lived together in secret, hiding near the caves. It is my fault she is gone. And my baby…" his voice cracks and he gazes into the distance.

"Is your baby dead, too?" Jenny asks.

"No!" answers Tock in a triumphant voice. "I have saved her! The universe tries to destroy her, or turn her into a cursed beast like me. But I save her every time."

Sven pulls Jenny back a bit and whispers into her ear, "He is the one causing the Time Pulses. He is altering a history that is closely linking to the Time War."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Jenny whispers back.

"We need to convince him to leave the Null Space."

"Could we bring him back with us?"

"That would be best," Sven answers. The two of the them turn back to the Galph.

Sven speaks calmly, "Listen, we need you to stop messing with this wall. The whole universe needs you to stop messing –"

The creature retorts, "You think I don't know that? I have a pretty good idea what that hole means."

"Then why?"

"And my daughter, my sweet daughter," the blue creature gazed towards the garden filled with girls. "I would manipulate centuries and twist the destiny of a thousand heros to bring her – every single version of her – somewhere safe."

Jenny crouches down to be at eye level with Tock. "But what if I told you there was a universe where the Tesh and the Sevateem are not enemies; where the two tribes share one chief."

Tock turned his head towards her, listening, yet still incredulous.

"Tock, I am that one chief. And I have seen you – a human you, living happily with your wife."

"Come with us. See it for yourself," Sven invites him.

"Or stay here and risk destroying it with a scratch," says Jenny.

Tock stands up slowly. Jenny takes his hand. Then she take Sven's hand and the three of them leave E-Space.

**[==+}**

The team of Time Lords stands before the Glowing cave.

"Xoanon was right, it is red now," says the Doctor.

"But was that due to a Time Pulse? What caused it?" asks River.

The Rani shrugs. "I felt nothing. Clearly whatever makes it change color is happening on the other side of the Time Tunnel."

"Well, let's just hope it stays red while we go find that history changer," the Doctor says as he barges towards the cave.

"Grandfather, stop!" shouts Susan. She points to a large shadow in the mouth of the cave. Then three figures exit the Glowing cave one by one; Sven first, followed by Jenny, then a Galph. There are surprised gasps and murmurs at the sight of him.

"Everyone, this is Tock," says Jenny proudly.

"He is the one responsible for the Time Pulses."

"Then I guess we can begin phase two," says Rani in a satisfied tone.

Jenny feels Tock let go of her hand. She turns to look at Tock, and she is astonished. The Galph is fading away. Just as the last particle of him disappears from reality, the bright light of another Retroactive Time Pulse fills the sky.

**[==+}**

The Tardis lands in a grassy area. A large cliff with a face can be seen in the hazy background. White robots, in the shape of giant hermit crabs roam about with projectors affixed to their shells. Clara steps out of the Tardis first, followed by the Doctor.

"This doesn't look like Hyde Park," says Clara. "Are you sure the Tardis has brought us to the right place?"

The Doctor uses his sonic screw driver to scan the communication device from the PEPA agent. "Hyde Park or not, the signal is coming from somewhere near here," the Doctor affirmatively.

"Who could be sending the signal?" asks Clara. "From the looks of it, everything is dead around here."

The Doctor acknowledges her statement. "You're right… from the looks of it." The Doctor waves his sonic screwdriver about, then checks it.

"So, we're too late?" asks Clara.

"Not at all," says the Doctor. "We are simply dealing with a very sophisticated perception filter. I just press this button on the sonic screwdriver and..." The Doctor presses a small button.

The pair of travelers find themselves suddenly surrounded by several spears. Holding those spears are men and women wearing an odd combination of synthetic fabrics and animals skins. The fiercest looking of the tribe, a man with a scar running from his cheekbone to his jugular, announces, "You are now hostages of the Galvatesh!"

The Doctor leans to his companion. "Oh, I know these guys. They used to be two tribes the Tesh and the Sevateem. I helped them solve their differences… so they became the Sevatesh."

"But, Doctor, they said Galvatesh," Clara points out.

"Yes… odd thing that," puzzles the Doctor.

"Oh, it isn't that odd, Dad," says a familiar voice. The leader of the capturing party has come face to face with the prisoners. It is Jenny, though her skin is well tanned and her pale blonde hair is streaked with brilliant blue. "Once you know the whole story." She turns to her group. "These visitors are expected. Re-calibrate the droids and continue the hunt without me."

The people with spears follow Jenny's orders. "Yes, Chief Jenny," they say.

Jenny motions for the Doctor and his companions to follow her.

"How is it you can always recognize me?" asks the Doctor.

"We're related. Time Lords can just sense each other that way."

"So," says the Doctor. "You said we were expected. Where are you leading us?"

"To the house of the Witch," answers Jenny.

"Hey," calls out Clara as they pass a familiar sight. "That looks like the Glowing Cave."

The four of them stop to gaze upon the sight. It does look exactly like the Glowing Cave, with one obvious difference, it isn't glowing.

"Where is the glow?" asks the Doctor.

"Oh, it hasn't been the Glowing Cave for years," says Jenny. "Now we call it the Mirror Cave, as was suggested by its most recent explorers. Come along."

The group continues walking.

"Jenny," the Doctor begins, "We're here because I heard a little girl who was frightened."

"Ah," says Jenny. "She's fine. She's probably going to see the Witch, too."

"Since when did the planet of Xoanon get a Witch?" wonders the Doctor.


	28. The Middle: part 3

"I don't wanna see the Witch! I don't need to see the Witch!" comes a plaintive shout farther up the path.

As predicted, the shout came from Ethel. A tall, pale skinned man is calmly carrying Ethel over his shoulder, ignoring her tantrum. A beautiful, sun-tanned woman walks along side them. She is speaking quietly, trying to reason with her child. You would think they were all going to the dentist.

The Doctor was quick to join the scene. "Hello there, I'm the –" he stops himself. "I'm curious as to what you," he looks directly at Ethel, "are shouting about."

Clara and Jenny catch up to the Doctor. "Hey, it's Ethel," says Clara.

"How do you know my name?" asks Ethel.

"How did you know her name?" asks the man stopping to confront these strangers.

Jenny answered for them, "This, Tock, is my father. I have been telling him and his companions about your daughter."

The woman is agitated. "We told you about her condition in confidence. This visit to the Witch was supposed to be a secret!"

"What's wrong with your daughter?" the Doctor inquires.

The parents hesitate for a long time. Ethel looks up at them, eager to hear their explanation.

"She is not aging properly," Tock finally said. "She is displaying symptoms of people who have taken Aliavix, but she has never been to see the Witch."

"Aliavix?" Clara, Ethel, and the Doctor all say at once.

"And she puts it in you with a huge needle and your whole arm hurts for days!" says Ethel. Behind her, Tock and his wife make faces to indicate that their child is exaggerating.

Clara squats down to Ethel's level. "Maybe it isn't as bad as you've heard. Sometimes people make up stories to make themselves seem brave."

"I'll do it if you go first," bargains Ethel.

Clara smirks. "It's a deal."

The short journey continues. The Doctor walking with the two concerned parents, Jenny walking with Ethel and Clara in back.

"I took the liberty of scanning your child," the Doctor informs Tock and his wife. "Are either of you familiar with the term triple-helix-DNA?"

The house of the Witch was not what the Doctor expected. It was the Rani's TARDIS, in its memorable form of a garish Viking Ship. Much of the ship was under murky swamp water. The dragon head was prominent and a little bridge had been constructed to reach from the shore to the deck. The Rani was waiting for them.

The Doctor stops upon seeing the Rani. "You know what, Tock, I don't think we should visit the Witch after all. Actually – Jenny! Jenny, why don't you take us to explore that Mirror Cave. Clara, Ethel, that sounds like a good adventure, right?"

"There is someone else here that you are supposed to see," Jenny informs the Doctor. She nods her head towards the bow of the ship. Susan and Sven are making final adjustments to the modified Mod-Hopper.

"Who are they?" asks the Doctor.

*{+==]***

In the belly of the dragon house, the Rani has set up a perfunctory doctor's office and apothecary shop. As per Ethel's demand, the Rani inspected Clara first and very carefully. Tock and his wife sat watching objectively, yet curious as to what the Witch may discover in this new comer. Ethel was more impatient.

"When are you going to inject her? Is my exam going to take this long? When are you going to inject her?" she asks, practically jumping up and down in anticipation.

"Child, calm yourself. I have injected her already, many years ago," the Rani informs her.

"Awww, she doesn't look like it," Ethel states her opinion.

"Perhaps the injection has not been activated, Ethel," says the Sevateem woman in a soothing voice. "It does take a near death experience, does it not?"

"Oh, it has been activated," says the Rani excitedly. "In fact, it is repairing a great amount of damage. Clara – it's Clara, correct?" the Rani turns to her inspectee. Clara nods. "Are you aware that your brain was handling over two thousand years worth of memories? Scientists can only begin to imagine what that would do to a human. Have you been feeling moody? Making rash descisions?"

"Maybe…"

The Rani looks smug, "Your human mind was at capacity and coming apart at the seams."

"What are you telling me?" Clara asks slowly.

"My Aliavix has saved you. It is slowly repairing the damage."

"And I won't become a zombie?" Clara asks.

"Get out of the chair." Clara obeys the Rani's command. "Now it is your turn," the Rani Witch says in a sing-song tone to Ethel.

Ethel gets into the chair obligingly, but still feeling apprehensive. The infamous bio-chemist begins her scan, waving what looks like a magic wand over Ethel's head.

"Hold out your hand," instructs the Witch.

Ethel holds out her left hand, palm up. "This will sting, do not move." The Witch touches the tip of her scanner to Ethel's palm. Ethel bites her lip, but the pain is over in a moment as the Witch places her magic wand into a white box.

"Look," says Ethel to her parents, "The Witch owns a baby Com-pew-terr – like Xoanon."

Tock smiles, "Of course, it is not nearly as powerful or helpful as our mighty Xoanon."

The Witch speaks as the white box makes gentle whirring sounds. "This computer does exactly what I need it to do, and that is analyze your body scan and tell me – " the Rani's eyes grow wide with excitement. "And tell me I have triumphed!" She quickly darts out of the room.

"What does that mean?" askes Ethel. Her parents and Ethel all shrug. "Where did she go?" More shrugs.

The Rani returns, trying to hide her excitement with a face of professionalism. "Please remove your shoe."

Ethel does as she is asked. "Am I going to get an injection?"

"No," says the Rani as she bends over to hold Ethel's ankle and takes something out of her lab coat pocket. "You are going to get tagged. Code G2001." Ethel is worried until Clara slips off her own shoe and sock to show her own tagged toe.

**[==+}**


	29. The Middle: part 4

Being reunited with his grand-daughter was about as typical and heart-warming a scene as anyone can imagine. However, after the initial hug and a pressing together of foreheads to exchange life-history highlights, the Doctor found that he had very little he wanted to say to his long abandoned relative.

"So… traveling into the Time Tunnel, the Glowing Cave, " says the Doctor, hoping to guide the conversation a certain direction, "or the Mirror Cave as they now call it."

"Yes," Susan responds. "Hopefully the time we are going back to it will still be the Glowing Cave."

"Have you checked it out?"

"No."

"Do you want to?"

"Grandfather, I have an extremely important mission I have been preparing for. One that will leave me trapped forever inside a Time-Locked event. I really wish – " Susan sighs. "This was not the kind of reunion I wanted to have with you. "

"What do you think I am trying to do?" the Doctor opens his arms wide. "I am trying to postpone your monumental journey with a fun little expedition. You know, for old time's sake?"

"Grandfather, it has been so long, I don't think you can remember the old times that I'm a part of."

"Then let's do it for new time's sake!"

Susan grins and shakes her head. "Could we postpone our good-bye in a different way?"

"We're time travelers, and you have an engine that goes exactly to wherewhen you tell it to go. What did you have in mind?"

Susan takes the chain from her neck and removes the ring. She hands it to the Doctor.

"I recognize this," the Doctor quietly exclaims.

"David made it for me. I want you to give it to River Song."

"I have… I mean, I will, but… why?"

Susan looks at her grandfather, her face full of earnesty. "Grandfather, do you remember why you left me behind? What you said your reason was?"

The Doctor bites his lip in thought. There is a big difference between what you said, what you meant, what is heard, and what is interpreted. He decides to act as if the question is rhetorical.

Susan continues, "You said I deserved to live my own life with a loving spouse; a life that didn't involve following a silly old man around. Well, I have done that and I have this to say: you deserve the same."

"Pardon?" says the Doctor.

"You have spent ten life-times following a silly old man – yourself. Meeting the same enemies, solving similar problems, and finding wide-eyed young people to explore space and time with you. When will you allow yourself to find a true companion and enjoy the calm moments of life? Be thrilled by a water-slide instead of a life or death situation?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I can stop being… The Doctor."

"And you shouldn't. What you need is someone who knows you beyond the title and the heroics. Someone who will enjoy the un-complex times so you can enjoy them, too. You deserve someone who can rescue herself, someone who has had her fair share of adventures, someone who loves you in spite of the time travelling, not because of it."

"And you think River Song is –"

"I know River Song is."

"Well, the ring is nice, but we already had a wedding."

"Was there cake?"

"No."

"Was there a honeymoon?"

"Not really…"

"Was there dancing?"

"Not so much … no."

"Grandfather!"

"What?"

"That's not a wedding!" Then Susan gets an idea. "You didn't see my wedding. You are going to make up for it by letting me see yours. I will walk you down the aisle give you away. We will all eat cake and dance!"

The Rani interrupts this touching moment. "And then you will fly into the Time Tunnel and set things right for the children of Gallifrey."

"Yes."

The Rani smiled. "I'll help make the invitations."

**{+==]**

The Doctor and Clara stand together outside the mouth of the Cave. It is no longer glowing either green or red. The Doctor shines the blue light of his sonic screwdriver into the cave and clearly the light is bouncing off something reflective.

With wide eyes and raised eyebrows he says, "Let's go."

"Thanks for joining me, by the way," the Doctor says to Clara. "Spelunking alone can be dangerous."

"Look at this!" exclaims Clara.

Before them is a large wall of reflective panels. On the other side of the wall are faint scuffling sounds and high-pitched murmurs. Written in large red letters of dried blood are the words DO NOT TOUCH.

The Doctor eagerly puts his hand out; Clara grabs it and forces it back down to his side.

"Doctor, don't even think about it. We're turning back. Susan's been waiting a while."

"But… but it says Don't Touch," the Doctor pleads.

"Exactly, so we're not going to touch it."

"But it is written in blood!"

"All the more reason not to touch it," says Clara, pulling him towards the cave mouth.

"But –"

"Look, Doctor," Clara jerks his arm firmly and he turns to face her. "I don't know how long satisfying a curiosity has been more important than keeping promises, but it isn't happening today. Today you are going to wave good-bye to your granddaughter and then go propose to River like she requested."

**[==+}**

Amy and Rory sit twiddling their thumbs. Rory has loosened his tie and Amy has taken off her fancy shoes. Rory sighs and looks over to his wife. "He didn't just pop out for the corsage, did he?"

"Nope."

"Are you kidding me?!" comes an infuriated shout from behind closed doors. Amy and Rory stand outside waiting, keeping a lookout for the reappearance of the mischievous Tardis. Susan and River Song are in the dressing room, River Song is putting on a new wedding dress, insisting that the one she was wearing was bad luck. Susan supported her future grandmother's assertion, pointing out that it was a long held and practically universal tradition that the groom not see the bride in her wedding dress until they were together at the altar. However, upon hearing River Song's theories about the Tardis, Susan was miffed. She comes stomping out of the dressing-room.

"Where is that machine?" she demands.

Amy and Rory fumble for a satisfying answer, but have none.

"I booked the officials for the whole day, not the whole decade."

Susan does not have long to fume before the big blue box starts to materialize. Before the doors can open, Susan quickly shoves a long broom through the door handles.

"Listen here, you TT Capsule," Susan sneers at the Tardis. "Yeah, you heard me; and that's what everyone else would be calling you, too, if I hadn't told them about the trendy new acronym. I know it is you who has been avoiding my calls. I know it is you that keeps taking the Doctor and his companions to dangerous places – adventures so bizarre you think we'll just run away, or die, or the Doctor will want to abandon us to keep us safe. And now he's found someone who will never be frightened off. You think instead you can just annoy her until she gives up on him?" Susan is disappointed in the great blue box.

"My grandfather deserves better from you. There are literally thousands of beings witnessing this wedding, and they are here for my grandfather and Dr. River Song, not you. Today, you are the limo driver. And, just in case I can't appeal to your noble side, let me remind you of my friend Sven. You see, he specializes in the permanent modification of time traveling vehicles. He has a scanner that can find you when you don't want to be found and tools that can fix you in ways you don't want to be fixed." She let this information sink in. "Now, I'm going to remove this broom. The Doctor that steps out of you better be ready to be married and wearing the stupid corsage he popped out to get."

There was a stillness for a moment, as if the Tardis was about to disappear before the doors opened. The doors opened slowly and pathetically.

"He's not in there," says River. She stands in the foyer bare-foot wearing a corset and hoop skirt and holding a big gun. She goes patiently to the Tardis. "You've come here to get help, haven't you?" She pauses for an answer. "That's what I thought. Let's go."

River climbs into the Tardis and it disappears.

*{+==] **

Sven and Susan sit in the modified Mod-Hopper in the unnavigatable Time Tunnel.

"I'm afraid of what I am going to see when I return to the Time War," Susan confesses. "Galphs - That is what is behind the Time Lock – blue skinned beings with no thoughts but survival and vengeance. That's what I am going to become…" Susan's eyes begin to tear-up.

"You won't be that if you don't want to," insists Sven.

"Promise me," says Susan, "that you will remember me as I am now. Whatever I will do in that War, I want it all to stay trapped in the Time Lock with me. "

"This won't be the last time we see each other, Susan. I will transport all those kids from E-Space like the Doctor instructed and then I am going to come back and fight right by your side."

"No, Sven. Gallifrey is going to explode…"

"And we will be in a Time Tunnel, a completely different dimension than all of it."

He hands her a Dalek destroying weapon, kisses her good-bye, and opens the door.

Susan is greeted by two unexpected faces. The one she recognizes as one of her keepers in the E-Space prison. The other she does not recognize at all. Sven, curious as to what is causing Susan to hesitate, joins her in the door way.

"Ace? What are you doing here?" asks Sven.

"I'm here to help," claims Ace.

Susan remains in the doorway of the Mod-Hopper, suspicious. She keeps her weapon in clear view, "How can you help?" she asks.

"I designed and built this Tunnel," Ace claims. "I can be your guide."

"And what can he do?" asks Sven, jutting his chin towards the Tharil.

"He knows how to install the E-Space mirrors," Ace smiles.

**[==+}**


	30. The Middle: part 5

The Doctor stands in the Cave of Mirrors, pursuing the curiosity that gripped him earlier. Again he reads the sign written in blood. Directly going against the written advice, the Doctor touches the shiny wall. To his surprise and delight, his hand passes through. He draws his hand out, and checks to see if it has changed in any way. It looks fine. However, on the other side of the wall the Doctor can now hear voices. The appearance of his hand has caused alarm, or at least interest among the beings on the other side of the wall.

The Doctor smiles and steps all the way through the mirror.

He was met by the miserable sight of several Daleks. Some of their tank lids are up, showing their pink, squid-like bodies. It was clear they had been waiting for a long time. However, their wait has just been made worthwhile. With great eagerness, they shoot at the Time Lord. Several of their shots miss and bounce off the wall. The Doctor turns to see that the wall behind him is full of mirrors. He retreats from the attacking Daleks, and is followed. Several Daleks are now passing through the E-space mirrors, the DNA of the Time Lord removing the solidity of the mirrors. Once the Doctor's body is completely on the other side, he dives to the ground to avoid the Dalek's fire. Most of the Daleks that have made it through go rushing down the tunnel, intent on finding what they were blockaded from.

The firing end of one Dalek is trapped in the mirror. He shoots relentlessly, unable to see his target, yet still intent on extermination. A small group of Daleks start backing the Doctor towards the wall. The sound of the Tardis can be heard, but it's sight is obscured by mist.

Running through the mist is River Song, gun firing shots left and right, taking out Daleks as she goes, not a single blast missing its target.

Upon seeing his savior, the Doctor's courage is regained. He takes advantage of the Dalek's blindness to come up along side it. With one hand he grabs the firing rod and bends it upward. With the other hand he touches the wall. With his foot he quickly shoves the bulky machine back to the other side of the wall.

He takes a deep breath.

"Are you all right, Sweetie?" asks River.

There is blood on the Doctor's hand, but then he sees that it from where he touched the wall. He looks for a place to wipe it, but finds none. "I think so," the Doctor answers River.

"Good. Now, hurry up and propose to me so we can go get married."

"That's not your wedding gown, is it?"

"No, it's the underwear."

"I'll never understand female fashion."

"Says the man who likes bow-ties and a fez."

"Do you want me to propose to you or not?"

"I don't know. Are you still afraid of endings?" River Song asks quietly.

The Doctor gives a small smile. "Yes," he admits. "But, I am ready to enjoy the middle."

*[==+}**

We join the Doctor on the dance floor with a happy crowd of inter-galatic beings all doing their best to follow the steps of the Electric Slide. Clara and River joyfully watch them look like fools. The crowd applauds their efforts as the song ends. Many wander off the dance floor as a slow and a less Earthly familiar song is played.

"Okay, that's my last dance for a while," says Captain Jack Harkness as he flops into a wheelchair. Taking these fake legs off me, Sister!" he says gleefully to the feline-faced nun. She does so obligingly.

The Doctor strolls over to chat with his old friend. River follows politely.

"Doctor, look!" Jack wiggles his stumps proudly. "What do you think?"

"They aren't growing back," the Doctor states stoically.

"I know! Isn't it great? The arms are fake, too. Oh! And I've started losing my hair."

"Well, if that makes you happy…"

"No one wants to live forever. An extra lifetime or twelve is grand, but eventually your stock-pile of good memories finally balances out your stock-pile of bad memories."

"Captain Jack Harkness! Wow, this is the best dream wedding ever!" shouts a familiar voice.

"Donna Noble?" says the Doctor, turning around to see his best friend.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" she asks. She does not recognize the man with the bow-tie.

"He's… my husband," says River.

"Dr. River Song? You look beautiful. I was wondering whose wedding this was… It felt odd being at a wedding and not knowing who had invited me. Thanks for inviting me. I know we only met briefly."

"Why are you wearing your pajamas?" asks Jack Harkness.

"Because I'm dreaming, of course," says Donna smiling at such a silly question. She looks across the room and gasps happily. "Mr. Groom, would you mind if the bride and I went to feast at the dessert buffet?"

River murmurs in the Doctor's ear, "Do let me go, Sweetie. This is one of the few people here who has even recognized me."

Donna goes cheerfully trotting towards the dessert table, River Song following. Susan steps in.

"I see you had a chance to see Donna again," she says with a proud smile on her face.

"Yes, thank you… I didn't expect to – why does she think she's dreaming?"

"This is a PEPA sanctioned event. Half the people in here are under the impression that they are dreaming. It is a common paradox prevention measure."

Agent Perl joins the conversation. "It is also a great in-field training exercise for first year agents. And speaking of first year agents…"

She steps aside to let Mickey and Martha through to shake hands with the Doctor.

The Doctor has a good hundred other guest to catch up with and River Song is having a pleasant time getting to know her new granddaughter and daughter-in-law.

Susan bites her lip in excited anticipation when she hears the DJ say, "Okay, lords and ladies, gals and gents and everything in-between… you know we couldn't go the whole night without playing it, and if you don't know the moves the song spells it out for you. So… let's do the Time Warp again!" The Doctor is pretty sure he has never seen a more sure sign that the whole universe will be okay and can get along than the vision of two-hundred aliens all jumping to the left then stepping to the right.

***[==+}**

As the Tardis gracefully flies through the alleyways of time, the Doctor thinks to himself how grand it is to no longer be the last of his kind. Abruptly, the Doctor's face goes from musing to concern.

"What is it, Doctor?" asks Clara.

"We saved the Gallifreyan race, I'm not the last of my kind," says the Doctor.

"Why do you say that like it is a bad thing?" asks Ethel.

"Because of all the adventures I've had because I was the only one… the creatures that have sought me out, hunted me down. My singularity was the whole reason for making Melody Pond. What if I have erased her whole existence…"

River Song pops her head into the room. She is wearing sultry night gown. "I still exist, Sweetie. And I am definitely in charge of the honeymoon destination. Now, drop these two off somewhere nice and let's get to the fun stuff."

The Doctor continues with the worries. "Or perhaps I just helped set off a whole new chain of Time Pulses … or left Xoanon's planet as sitting ducks to the myriad of creatures that –"

"Do not worry about that at all," Clara reassures him.

"Yeah," says Ethel. "I'm sure the Agents have that all figured out."

*{+==]**

On the planet of Xoanon, the PEPA agents are conferring with the sentient machine.

"And you are sure you have the power to cover the whole planet?" queries Agent Perl.

"With the assistance of my droids, yes," Xoanon answers. "Using this program, we will be able fool any planetary scan from any range."

Agent Weft joins them, brushing his hands in a sign of job completed. "I just finished down-loading the All Dead Mirage to all of the droids and to Xoanon's back-up files. Existence of triple-helix life on this planet will stay our secret."

"Well then," says Perl, "Back to guarding the American President?"

"Which one?"

"We're scheduled to protect the one with the green spikes."

"Oh, I like her."

**THE END**

_I hope you liked this set of episodes. _

_If anyone is interested in making this story into some media form other than text, I'd be flattered and all for it. Please let me know. _


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